


I Won't Say I'm in Love

by Write4love



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action Scenes, Angst, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Eventual Keith/Lance (Voltron), Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), Injured Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Fluff, Klance 2019, Lance (Voltron) Whump, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Keith/Lance (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Protective Boyfriends, Voltron, Whump, Worried Keith (Voltron), klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2020-05-14 14:40:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19275379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Write4love/pseuds/Write4love
Summary: Lance let the Bayard fall from his hand. His body was covered in sweat from the amount of energy he just exerted. He wasn’t sure if he was about to pass out or throw up but he was sure one of those was coming next, if not both.“Lance…Lance!” A gruff, yet calming voice called.A warm presence kneeled beside him.Keith.Suddenly the Red Paladin’s hands were all over him, frantically searching for which wound to address first.ORLance gets hurt while stopping an assassination, lucky for him Keith's got his back, unlucky for him, now the planet will only join the coalition under one condition: that the Blue and the Red "boyfriends" are the face of the treaty. Can the two rivals possibly put aside their differences for the sake of the coalition?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment!
> 
> If you're not sure what to say I love hearing:  
> 1.) Things you liked  
> 2.) Predictions for what will happen next  
> 3.) How this fic ruined your life  
> 4.) That I'm the Mistress of Evil
> 
> And other nice things like that, you get the picture!

Lance wrung a finger around the rim of his glass, the contents of which he wasn't entirely sure about, but it looked like some sort of alien champagne. Allura stood at the front of the ballroom talking about "peace and prosperity" and all the usual things she covered during these types of functions. She looked beautiful all dressed up for the occasion, all the Paladins looked good, really. The _incredibly_ wealthy planet they were on was throwing Voltron a ball, and Allura saw it as the perfect opportunity to convince them to join the coalition.

Lance leaned back against the golden bannister behind him. Pidge was on his left, leaning of the railing from the other side, chin propped up on her arms. Hunk was on his right, one hand resting on the railing, the other on his hip.

"Not that I'm not grateful for the party and all," Hunk whispered, "but remind me why this planet is so important again?"

"Because," Pidge replied, not taking her eyes off the Princess, "this planet is right next to one of Zarkon's supply bases. If we get them to intercept those shipments, it would be detrimental to the Galra."

Hunk nodded. "Ah, yes of course now I remember...wait, no I don't. Why don't I remember?"

Lance and Pidge shared a knowing glance, then a sly smirk spread across Lance's face. "Probably because Shiro brought it up after he mentioned that the Balmerans have an alliance with this planet." He patted Hunk on the back. "You were probably too busy day dreaming about a certain rock to pay attention."

Hunk's face lit up. "Oh yeah!" Suddenly, he snapped up straight. "Do you think she's here now? How do I look? Is my headband on straight?" Pidge and Lance tried to smother their laughs, although he nearly lost it when Pidge let out a hideous snort beside him, clamping her hands over her mouth. Allura would kill them if she caught them laughing during her speech. "Is that a no?" Hunk whispered desperately.

Pidge hoisted herself forward on the bannister so she could reach across Lance and punch Hunk in the arm. "You look great, Big Guy."

Hunk beamed at that, and Pidge wasn't wrong, they all looked great in their formal wear. They were all given black tuxes with just a splash of their paladin color. By some miracle Shiro even convinced Keith to wear one. Pidge was wearing a black and green jumpsuit that Lance's sister, Veronica, definitely would approve of. Even Coran was dressed for the occasion, wearing Altean formalwear (which included a cape) and Lance had to admit, he was pulling it off; and Coran wasn't even the fanciest person here. This planet was as flashy as it comes, the females wore solid gold gowns with trains that stretched across the floor. The men wore bejeweled top hats and shirts so puffy the could make pillows jealous. The ballroom itself was also adorned in finery, with its gold accents and gaping ceilings. Lance liked their style, he would love to have them for allies.

Allura finished up her speech, her pink and black gown sweeping behind her as she raised her glass of alien champagne. "And so, to the Marguuls." The Marguuls, _that's_ what this race was called, Lance'd been trying to remember since her speech began. "To your planet, and people." She paused, sifting through her next words carefully. "And, perhaps, to a future partnership with Voltr-"

"Oh no, Princess." The Marguulian King strode up to her, waving one of his webbed hands at her. "Let's not mix business and pleasure, we are at a ball." He turned to his people with a triumphant smile. "Bring out the desserts!"

The room erupted into cheers, although Allura couldn't hide her disappointment. She'd been trying to convince them to join the coalition for quintants now, but they cared more about living in the lap of luxury than the war going on outside the safety of their planet. Lance let out a sigh, it was going to take more than a fancy speech to get them to help. Just then, waiters flooded the room with trays upon trays of baked goods.

"Dessert!" Hunk cried as he pushed off the railing and ran for the nearest waiter. Pidge leapt of the bannister herself and followed him into the crowd. Lance stayed where he was, watching the hordes of purple and orange aliens charged for the food. They all applauded their webbed hands as a 24 tiered cake was wheeled out. Lance placed his drink on the bannister and reluctantly applauded too, it was impressive, just not as impressive as helping Voltron defend the universe.

Lance watched from the side as everyone eagerly waited for a piece of cake, that's when he saw Keith scowling in the corner of the room. Lance shoved his hands in his pockets and sauntered over to the Red Paladin. "Hey man," he said as he strode up next to Keith. "This is a party, you're supposed to have fun."

Keith grunted in response. Lance wasn't sure he would know what fun was if it leapt into his arms. Keith just leaned against the wall, arms crossed, angry frown on his face. He shook his head. "How can I have fun when the Marguuls refuse to help us beat Zarkon." His head snapped toward Lance, those violet eyes burning into him. "I mean, they have a highly advanced fleet of warships. They could turn the tide of this war, but instead they sit around and throw parties."

Lance shrugged. "I agree with you, but I get where they're coming from. Joining us makes them a prime target for Zarkon, and he has the ability to blow their planet to smithereens."

Keith considered this for a moment, then replied with a very eloquent growl.

Lance rolled his eyes, but then playfully nudged Keith's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll convince them."

"I'm not so sure, Allura just gave her best 'join the coalition' speech and they still don't want to help. What else could we possibly do?"

Lance bit his lower lip. What else _could_ they do? He looked around at the hundreds of flowers that adorned the room, the golden curtains, the marble statues, how do you convince someone who has it all to risk it all? He sighed. "I don't think inspiring speeches will work this time. The Marguuls are an extravagant people, I mean, look at all this." He waved his hand at the ornate ballroom. "So maybe we gotta do something extravagant to convince them."

Keith's face twisted. "That's-" He barked, but then stopped himself and mulled over Lance's words for a moment, "that's actually not a bad idea."

Lance wiggled an eyebrow as he smoothed out his coat lapels. "Why thank you, I've been known to have them from time to time."

Keith snorted. "From time to time? More like from year to year."

Lance gasped and placed a hand over his heart, feigning insult, but in all honesty he was just happy Keith wasn't brooding anymore. "I take offense to that... I have at least _two_ good ideas a year."

"Is that so?" A mischievous glint flashed in Keith's eye. Lance had never really seen Keith like this before, but he enjoyed it whatever it was. "Well in that case I'm so honored you used one of those two on me."

Lance smiled and pressed his back against the wall. He noted that his shoulder was dangerously closed to touching Keith's, but he decided not to dwell on it too much seeing as Keith probably couldn't care less about stuff like that. "I'm just glad you're finally having fun, Keith."

"I am not having fun," Keith bit out.

Lance didn't realize he would take such offense to that. He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, fine, you're not laughing and having fun. Guess I was mistaken." Then Lance quickly muttered, "not that it would be such a crime if you were."

Keith's nostrils flared and Lance truly thought this might be the end. Of all the ways he's almost died in space he never thought this would be the one to finish the job. To be honest, Lance wasn't upset that Keith wasn't enjoying the party, even though Lance loved everything about it, the people, the outfits, the dancing; but he understood it wasn't Keith's scene. What bothered him was he thought they were having fun together just now, but apparently Keith did not feel the same.

Suddenly, Keith's face softened. "I'm sorry that was...uncalled for." He leaned back against the wall and, maybe Lance was mistaken, but it seemed as though Keith was even closer this time. Their shoulders ever so lightly touched. But Keith wouldn't do that on purpose, would he? It didn't matter though, Lance wasn't really in the mood to dwell on that now.

They sat there in silence and watched the people scarfing down their desserts, then going in for seconds, not like there wasn't enough cake to go around. Lance could see Keith in his peripheral glancing over at him, and it took all of his will power not to look back. Why was Keith looking at him so much? But his thoughts were interrupted as Keith bumped their shoulders and said, "I heard the cake is your favorite alien flavor, Keyra."

Lance perked up at that. "It is?" He loved Keyra, it tasted like nothing they had back on Earth. Some how it was an explosion of all the best flavors masterfully mixed into one. It was some weird cooking thing only aliens could do and only certain planets had it. He was about to sprint towards the cake, but then he stopped himself. He turned his attention to Keith and narrowed his eyes. "Wait a minute, how did you know that was my favorite?"

"Probably because you never shut up about it."

Keith was trying to act nonchalant, but Lance wouldn't be discouraged so easily. He poked a finger into Keith's arm and smiled. "But you remembered."

The Red Paladin averted his eyes, he knew he was found out. A warm feeling rose in Lance's chest. Keith _remembered_. "Just go get your stupid piece of cake," he growled, but there was no bite to it, if anything he almost seemed nervous, although Lance couldn't imagine what about. He wasn't even nervous when he did the Trials of Marmora for goodness sake.

Lance nodded. "Okay, but not because you said so." He turned to leave but then added, "do you want me to get you a slice?"

"No thanks. I don't think I'd like Keyra."

"What? How can you - What are you - Have you ever even tried Keyra?" Lance sputtered.

"Nope," Keith laughed, "And your love for it makes me want to try it even less." The Red Paladin playfully punched Lances arm, and despite his treasonous words about the best flavor in the universe, he couldn't help the fond feeling swelling in his chest.

"That settles it. You're trying a piece. Right here right now."

That mischievous glint returned to Keith's eyes, a look that Lance was beginning to enjoy on the Samurai. The Red Paladin got right in Lance's face. "That a challenge, McClain?"

They were very close, and despite Lance's roaring heartbeat, he stepped forward as well. He briefly noted that their foreheads were nearly touching. "Yeah it is, Kogane."

For what felt like a lifetime neither of them moved. They just stared each other down, a playful smirk on both their faces, but at long last Keith yielded. He stared at Lance with a soft expression. _Man he must really be excited for that cake if he's staring at me like that_ Lance thought, because that was the only logical explanation for Keith looking at him that way.

Keith cleared his throat. "Okay, I'll-"

But he was cut off by a Marguulian stepping between them. She was gorgeous, of course, all the people from this planet seemed to be. Good genes all around. She was one of the orange ones, although she had sparkling gold eyes and a golden gown to match. Her orange hair was pulled back into a seriously elaborate hairdo that must've taken at least two servants to create. She was stunning and she was holding a piece of cake, the perfect woman all around.

"Hi." She flashed her unfairly white teeth at Lance. "Sorry to bother you, Blue Paladin, but I brought you a slice of cake." She shyly offered him the plate. Lance took it and their fingers brushed, which caused her to quickly pull her hand away. For a moment Lance was worried he did something wrong, but he quickly realized she was shy because she was _into_ him. A dusting of pink spread across her cheeks, she was actually blushing in his presence. "I just wanted to tell you, Blue Paladin, I think you're really brave and...and handsome."

Lance nearly choked at that. Sure, girls had flirted with him before but usually after he had to really work them first. He swallowed a wad of spit clogging his throat. "Please, Blue Paladin is my father, you can just call me Lance."

She giggled and Lance couldn't help the flush heating up his face. "I amend my earlier statement," she laughed. "You're really brave, handsome _and_ funny." She smiled at him sweetly, and Lance could've sworn she was just turning just as red as him, although it was hard to tell with her orange complexion. She shook her head as if she was coming back to reality. "Oh, um, my name is Zella by the way."

A bright grin spread across Lance's face. "Well, Zella, thank you for the cake."

She shyly tucked a piece of the shiny orange hair behind her ear. "It's Keyra, my favorite flavor.

"No way, mine too!"

Zella's eyes brightened. "Really?" She grabbed his arms with excitement. "It's so good, isn't it. It's how I imagine pure gold would taste."

"Finally someone who understands!"

Zella was practically beaming now. Lance couldn't believe what was happing, he had never clicked with someone so easily. Normally it took a little while for him to feel so comfortable with a girl, and he always had to approach her first. Zella opened her mouth to say something else but Keith cut in. "Are you two done embarrassing yourselves?" Zella's mouth snapped shut, clearly taken aback by the harsh diatribe, and Lance didn't blame her, the comment was way out of line. Keith rolled his eyes. "You know what, keep acting inappropriately if you want, but I'm not gonna hang around and watch." Then the Red Paladin stomped off into the crowd.

Lance blinked slowly. "I'm so sorry about that, Zella." He handed her back the plate of cake. "Let me go see what's going on. I'll be right back." Then he followed Keith into the crowd.

He could hear Zella call behind him. "No worries, Lance!" Which was a relief, he was afraid Keith would scare her away for a moment. He wasn't sure he'd be so quick to forgive his teammate if he ruined Lance's chances with a girl like that.

Lance pushed through the crowd, trying to catch up to Keith before he stormed off to brood somewhere. He saw Keith up ahead pushing through party guests like some sort of hurricane barreling through everything that gets in his way. Lance grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. "Keith, what the heck was that?"

"What? You mean you shamelessly flirting like you always do?" Keith bit back.

Lance swallowed down the anger rising in his throat. They could still figure this out without yelling at one another...at least he was pretty sure they could. "No," he said through gritted teeth. "I mean, why were you insulting Zella like that? She didn't do anything to you and you're making us Paladins look bad."

" _I'm_ making us look bad? You're the one who's always putting pretty girls before the mission."

Lance clenched his fists. "I do not! And in case you haven't notice, Mr. Grumpy Pants, this isn't a life or death mission, this is a party, and I'm having fun, you should try it sometime."

"This is not just a party," Keith spat back, "this is a diplomatic event for the coalition so we can save countless lives." Keith jabbed a finger into Lance's chest, the venom in his voice growing with each word. "We're trying to save the universe from Zarkon, Lance, this isn't the time for fun. Stop pursuing every girl that looks your way. We're Paladins, we don't have time for love. As a matter of fact, love is completely unimportant when there's an entire universe on the line." Keith shoved Lance away. "Grow up." He stormed away, leaving the Blue Paladin too stunned to respond.

Okay, so maybe they couldn't resolve this without yelling.

Anger welled up in Lance's chest. He thought he and Keith were finally in a good place. They worked well as teammates on missions, they could laugh in their downtime, they could rile each other up in a playful way without taking it too far, and most importantly, they could talk to one another when things got hard. As a matter of fact, Keith was someone Lance was going to more and more for help. Hunk was his best buddy but sometimes he had his head in the clouds, whereas Keith was a good listener, made Lance feel like he was heard. But maybe he was just imagining all this, because the Keith that just screamed at him and embarrassed him was not someone he would ever confide in.

Lance wasn't really in the party mood anymore but he made his way back to Zella anyway, hoping she could bring his spirits up again.

\------

Zella and Lance had talked and laughed until she had to leave. It turned out she was the daughter of the Marguulian King, which was good, maybe she could help Lance convince him to join the coalition, so take _that_ Keith. Now Lance was just brooding in the shadows, which was usually Keith's job at events like this. Even the Keyra cake didn't cheer him up, and now he was pouting up in the ballroom's balcony.

He leaned over the railing and watched the party guests milling about on the dance floor below. He spotted Allura and Shiro shamelessly trying to butter up the King. It was almost humorous the lengths they were going to. The King currently had them doing an ancient Marguulian dance that looked like the Chicken Dance and the Cha-Cha Slide had a hideous dance baby together. The sight of Allura and Shiro doing that cheered Lance up a bit.

He wished he was in the mood do dance too. What a time it would've been if he had joined them, but instead he replayed his fight with Keith for the hundredth time in his head. He wasn't slacking off, was he? And he wasn't always shamelessly flirting. Of course he knew how much was at steak here, and that the universe needed defending...but if he just so happened to find love along the way would that be so bad? Or was Keith right, would that just be a distraction? Or another weakness Zarkon could exploit? Stupid Keith getting in his head.

Lance groaned as he slid to the floor, but his pity party was short-lived as he saw a dark figure out of the corner of his eye. He was on alert immediately. No one was supposed to be up here, not even him, he snuck past the guards because he needed to be alone. Lance rose to his feet as gingerly as he could and crept towards a curtain that separated the balcony boxes. He reached for his Bayard but silently cursed when he realized it wasn't on him. Allura had insisted it would send a bad message if they brought weapons to the ball, so he'd just have to do this the old fashioned way. He gingerly pulled the ornate red curtain back and his worst fears were confirmed.

There was a sniper.

He was setting up his gun over the railing. Lance followed his sight lines and saw what he was aiming for, the Marguulian King.

Lance didn't think, he just sprung into action. All he knew was he had to stop the assassin before he was in position. He tackled the sniper to the ground, forcing him to drop his weapon. They rolled around a bit, Lance tried to pin him but he was a strong alien. In Lance's defense, the guy did have four arms. For a moment Lance was on top, but then the assassin flipped him over using his second set of arms. Cheater. Lance tried to use the momentum to roll the sniper onto his back again, but he pinned the Paladin with his other two arms. Lance was stuck.

"A valiant attempt, Blue Paladin," the alien sneered, "but I got a poison dart with the Marguulian King's name on it." Lance glanced over at the discarded rifle, which was indeed loaded with a tranq, the alien reached for it with the set of arms that weren't holding Lance down. He continued loading the gun as he added, "the Galra are paying big bucks to make sure the Marguuls don't join your little coalition."

Lance struggled beneath his iron grip, but he couldn't get free. The alien was kneeling on him and had his arms pinned to his side, his neck was the only thing he could move. The assassin aimed his rifle and clicked off the safety, Lance had to act now. He whipped his head upwards, ramming it into the rifle, causing the gun to fling upwards. The poison dart harmlessly shot somewhere into the ceiling, although Lance could hear party guests screaming below at the sound of the gunshot.

The alien let out a hideous howl as he grabbed Lance by the neck and threw him to the side. Lance went careening into the railing, smacking his head pretty hard. At least this bruise would go nicely with the gash on his forehead he just got by oh so wisely smashing his face into a sniper rifle. Black spots danced across his vision but he desperately tried to blink them away as the assassin loaded another dart into his gun. Lance ran at the alien who threw a punch at the Paladin, but this time Lance was ready, he dodged the attack and lunged for the gun. He grabbed on but the alien wouldn't let go.

Suddenly, the assassin let out a deafening shriek as he threw all of his weight towards Lance, and then Lance was falling back onto the balcony's bannister. The alien pressed the gun down on his chest so Lance's upper body was leaning over the edge, teetering above the dance floor. People were screaming, someone might've even yelled Lance's name, but he couldn't really hear over the high pitched ringing in his ears. The alien flashed his razor sharp teeth. "You know what," he said a little too sweetly for Lance's comfort. "Zarkon will probably pay me double if I kill one of the Paladins too."

He pushed against Lance, but Lance wrapped his legs around the alien's torso and used the momentum to take the assassin with him, then they were both falling over the railing. The alien let out a scream but Lance flipped over as fast as he could and grabbed the railing, something in his arm definitely popped but at least now he was safely dangling from the railing. Just when he thought it was over he felt something heavy latch onto his leg. The assassin was hanging from Lance's ankle, shouting up curses. Lance looked down and saw pure chaos below, Marguulians were running left and right, it was like a stampede. He tried to pull himself up but the alien did the same, climbing up Lance's legs. They both flipped over the railing landing breathlessly back on the balcony floor.

Lance was bloody and bruised, and he definitely dislocated one of his shoulders with that railing trick. He glanced over at the alien, who also looked a little beaten up, but it wasn't enough to keep him down. He picked up the rifle and stood. Lance looked down below to where the King stood on a chair, yelling for everyone to remain calm. The assassin had a clear shot. "For Zarkon," he screamed, and the King's eyes widened with fear. He was trapped, if he moved he would be trampled by his frantic people.

Time seemed to slow as Lance leapt to his feet, ignoring the screaming in his legs as he did so. He jumped up onto the railing and pushed off it with the full force of his body, sending his elbow into the assassin's jaw. The alien and Lance fell in a heap on the floor, Lance's head greeted the cold marble  _hard,_ leaving him on the edge of consciousness, but he forced the alien to drop his gun over the other side of the bannister so at least there was that. Lance struggled to keep his eyelids open but he could just make out the assassin fumbling for his last poison cartridge, and then Lance felt a sharp stinging in his arm. He let out a mangled cry as the alien flipped him over onto his back.

The assassin dangled the empty poison cartridge in his face, and Lance was putting together what that sting was. The alien had settled for emptying its contents into the Paladin instead. "The poison is for Marguulians so, alas, it won't kill a human, only temporarily paralyze," the assassin practically purred. "But I'm sure Emperor Zarkon will pay handsomely if I bring you alive. That way he gets to kill you himself."

Lance could feel the poison taking over, slowly numbing his body, slowly urging his aching muscles to rest, slowly chiding him to go to sleep. He tried to fight it, but he just wasn't strong enough. He used the last of his energy to turn his head, through the bannister posts he could see Allura and Shiro leading the King to safety. He had done it. He had stopped the assassination, now he could rest, and rest sounded _so_ good at this moment. His vision began to blur.

The alien let out a triumphant chuckle as he threw Lance's limp body over his shoulder.

"Put him down," a gruff voice cut in. " _Now_."

The owner of the voice was close. By some miracle they were able to wade through the ocean of people scrambling downstairs without getting trampled. Lance was too weak to turn and see who it was, but he didn't need to, he knew that voice anywhere.

_Keith._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2: The Blue Paladin gets a little help from the Red Paladin...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I arranged the alphabet into this order of words for you, please enjoy your meal

Lance hung like a limp rag doll over the shoulder of the assassin. He couldn’t see what was going on but he felt a laugh ripple through the alien’s body. “Ah, the angry one come to play,” He sneered as he readjusted Lance on his shoulder, hiking him back up like a sack of potatoes. Lance’s head ricocheted against the assassins back, causing the Paladin’s vision to blur even further.

A small snarl ripped out of Keith’s throat. “I said, put him down.”

Lance still couldn’t see Keith, but he could imagine what he looked like in this moment, red in the face, teeth bared, body squared up to fight, just like Keith always looked when he was ready to take take on an alien he definitely shouldn’t…especially _alone_.

If Lance’s eyes weren’t feeling the effects of the paralysis he would definitely be rolling them right now.

His thoughts were cut off as he was jerked back over the alien’s shoulder and into his arms. The assassin held him up like a prize. “You’re going to get all worked up over _this_?” Lance’s head lulled forward but the alien cupped it with one of his meaty hands, forcing him to stare at a blurry figure that he knew was Keith. “Although,” he cooed. “By human standards, he is rather good looking. Perhaps I’ll keep him for myself.” The assassin ran a rough hand through Lance’s hair, then whispered in his ear, “a pretty pet Paladin, eh? I like the sound of that. I’ll be the envy of all the bounty hunters.”

A shiver ran down Lance’s spine, the few muscles in his face he could still move were contorted in fear

That’s when Keith charged.

The alien threw Lance aside and his useless body skidded across the floor. He could hear the assassin’s blade colliding with Keith’s, because of course Keith snuck his Bayard in here, Lance would’ve smirked at that if he could still use those muscles.

He heard the unmistakable noise of Keith grunting with each maneuver of his sword. That sound was as familiar to Lance as his own heartbeat…but only because Keith did it so much in training. Lance so badly wanted to know what was happening but he didn’t think he had the strength to turn his head, so he’d just have to settle for listening.

The alien and Keith exchanged some words that Lance couldn’t make out, then he heard the air expel from Keith’s lungs followed by a thud. The assassin must’ve gotten past the Red Paladin’s defenses and kicked him hard.

A strangled “No” escaped Keith’s lips as he struggled, the alien must’ve had him pinned. Screams of terror echoed from the party guests down on the first floor. Lance was sure the assassin had Keith near the edge, giving the audience a good show.

Lance couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe not knowing what was happening to Keith. He tried ever so slightly to turn his head, but searing pain rippled through his body. He rested his head back on the floor and tried to catch his breath, completely helpless to save his friend.

He heard a struggle behind him, then the sounds of fighting resumed and he knew Keith had broken free, classic Keith. Lance wasn’t sure why he was so worried in the first place, Keith always made it out alive, no matter how many stupidly dangerous positions that boy puts himself in, although maybe that’s why Lance worried.

Lance himself may have been a magnet for trouble, but Keith always went out in search of it (because, of course he had to one up Lance with _this_ too.)

Lance was ripped from his thoughts when something loud clanged across the floor and bumped against his body. He silently cursed, knowing exactly what that object was, Keith’s Bayard. He couldn’t see it, but the tips of his fingers brushed it. He wiggled them, they had just a little strength left, hopefully it would be enough. Despite Keith’s incredible combat skills, fighting a four armed alien weaponless is a big feat, even for Voltron’s best fighter, so Lance knew what he needed to do.

White hot pain shot up his spine as he jerked his neck as much as he could. He could only turn it three-quarters of the way before he was on the verge of passing out, but it would have to do.

He saw the alien on top of Keith out of the corner of his eye, it was a crappy view, but he had made harder shots. He curled his numb fingers around the Black Bayard and felt it transform into a small pistol.

With a painful flick of his wrist he shot.

He hit the alien in the shoulder, knocking him off balance. It didn’t do any damage but it was the distraction Keith needed to win. He leapt back to his feet and slammed his body into the assassin’s, sending the alien careening over the balcony.

Lance let the Bayard fall from his hand. His body was covered in sweat from the amount of energy he just exerted. He wasn’t sure if he was about to pass out or throw up but he was sure one of those was coming next, if not both.

“Lance…Lance!” A gruff, yet calming voice called.

A warm presence kneeled beside him.

_Keith._

Suddenly the Red Paladin’s hands were all over him, frantically searching for which wound to address first.

Keith’s usually rough hands gently caressed Lance’s face, and tenderly wiped his sweaty bangs off his forehead. He spoke softly but Lance couldn’t understand, he was losing consciousness too fast.

With the last of his strength Lance ground out one last raspy word. It was painful to speak, but he needed to say it.

“K-Keith,” he whispered before blacking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3: The story continues...immediately, the next chapter is up


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In case you're wondering, yes, in my mind the assassin does look like Four Arms from Ben 10
> 
> Anyway, we're taking it back from Keith's POV so buckle up boys

“Grow up,” Keith practically spat in Lance’s face before storming away. Lance’s hurt expression was almost enough to make him stop in his tracks, but he figured Lance would just seek comfort with Zella.

The Red Paladin knew he let his temper get the best of him, but it wasn’t his fault, Lance was _always_ flirting, and Keith was getting tired of it. He felt as though he wasn’t completely in the wrong here either, since becoming Paladins, Lance had flirted on so many missions. Zella, Nyma, Allura, Romelle and apparently some _mermaids_ were just the tip of the iceberg, and who knows what else Lance flirted with while Keith was with the Blade; and since Keith was the pilot of the Black Lion again, he felt he was allowed to address this issue…he just probably should’ve done it in a better way than losing his cool and storming off.

Keith threw open the great glass doors that led out to the terrace. He groaned loudly as he leaned against the railing overlooking the magnificent gardens. Keith shook his head, there was so much more he should be worrying about right now, Shiro died and then was resurrected, Lotor betrayed them, Zarkon kept coming back no matter how many damn times they killed him and all Keith could focus on was Lance flirting? What was wrong with him?

Keith rubbed his eyes. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

“I see my nickname for you is finally catching on.”

Keith whipped around to see none other than Matt Holt standing behind him, a plate with a large piece of cake in his hand.

Keith cocked his head to the side. “What are you doing here, Matt?”

Matt shoveled his entire slice of cake into his mouth. “Trying to find my sugar daddy mostly.”

Keith crossed his arms and glared at the rebel leader. It was incredible to him that Matt went to space, got kidnapped by aliens, separated from his family, joined the resistance, got buff and still somehow had the same dumb sense of humor he had at the Garrison.

“Tough crowd,” Matt chuckled as he leaned on the railing beside Keith. He scrapped his fork across his plate, getting every last bit of frosting possible. “Lance called me.”

“What? Why?”

“Lance said I should come.” Matt shrugged nonchalantly, then wiggled one of his eyebrows. “He lured me in with promises of cake. At least one of my friends knows I’m a connoisseur of good dessert.”

The hint of a smile tugged at Keith’s lips. “I find it hard to believe you have good taste in anything.”

Matt playfully pushed his hand into Keith’s face. “ _Anyway_ , so I jokingly told the other rebels that I should come and inspect the cake, make sure none of it’s poisoned…but apparently they don’t quite understand Earth humor because they agreed and let me come.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Go check the rebel mission logs if you don’t believe me.”

Keith almost laughed. Almost, but something tight was still twisting in his chest because of Lance.

“Lance might’ve also mentioned that Pidge has been missing me lately,” Matt added as he licked his fork clean.

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Then what are you doing out here with me? Shouldn’t you be with her?”

“Don’t worry about that, Pidge and I got plans.” An evil smile spread across Matt’s face. “We rigged their alien stereo system to play the cha-cha slide.”

“The power you two have terrifies me.”

“Good. Tremble before us,” Matt said as his tongue got caught between two of his fork prongs.

Keith pinched the bridge of his nose, of course Lance had noticed Pidge was missing Matt and invited him to come, and then Keith chewed him out for being a bad Paladin. Maybe Keith was the bad Paladin, he thought he was becoming a good leader, especially since spending those two years on the space whale, but maybe he was wrong.

Matt placed a hand on his shoulder. “Stop that.”

“Stop what? I didn’t say anything.”

Matt shot Keith a knowing glance. “You’re thinking you’re a bad leader because you did something dumb, but I won’t allow you to call yourself stupid…only Shiro and I can call you that.”

“Ha, ha,” Keith droned, lightly elbowing Matt in the ribs.

Matt dramatically fell to the floor. “Oh, I’ve been stuck by the mighty leader of Voltron. What a world, what a world.”

Keith covered his face, both in embarrassment and so that Matt wouldn’t see he was actually making Keith smile. He didn’t want Matt to know he _enjoyed_ his stupid humor…same goes for Lance.

Keith fixed his face back into indifference before glaring down at the rebel leader, who was still fully committed to his bit on the floor. “Mighty leader of Voltron, eh? Has a nice ring to it.”

Keith thought back to when the Black Lion first chose him, he didn’t feel he deserved it, but Lance proved him otherwise, which was impressive seeing as not even Shiro could convince him to take the Black Lion. Keith felt so unworthy the first time Shiro suggested he be the next leader of Voltron. He’d come a long way since then, but then again, maybe not. 

“Stop overthinking things, Keith, you’re a good leader,” Matt said from the floor. “And you’re deserving of the Black Lion, even though the black armor apparently isn’t good enough for your fashion tastes.”

Keith held his hand out to Matt and pulled him up. “I can’t switch armors, what if Lance looks better than me in red?”

Matt placed a hand on his chest. “Do my ears deceive me or did Keith Kogane just make a joke?”

“Don’t tell Lance or I’ll kill you.”

“I would never.” Matt over dramatically crossed his heart, but then his face softened. “Just learn to forgive yourself, okay?” He patted Keith on the back as he headed back inside.

Lance’s hurt expression flashed across Keith’s mind again. “What I really need to learn is how to forgive others,” he grumbled under his breath.

Matt stopped as he reached the door, then turned back over his shoulder. “It’s not selfish to work on yourself first, Keith, then your other relationships will follow in time.”

And with that he left, and Keith was alone once again.

 

———

 

Keith didn’t apologize to Lance. He wanted to, but he didn’t. Mostly because he was afraid he would find the Blue Paladin with Zella, or worse, he wouldn’t be able to find them at all because they had snuck off somewhere. So once again Keith found himself holding up a wall.

He watched from the corner as Shiro and Allura shamelessly kissed up to the Marguulian King. He chuckled to himself as the King made them do some dance. Shiro caught Keith’s eye, pleading with his little brother to come get him out of it, but Keith just smiled and mouthed _no way_. Shiro’s nostrils flared, he was definitely going to make Keith pay for this later, but right now he didn’t care.

The party was going smoothly…until it wasn’t.

Some Marguulians started screaming, others were pointing up at something. When Keith saw what all the commotion was about his heart stopped.

A well-built alien had Lance dangling dangerously over the balcony bannister. An assassin for sure.

“Lance!” Keith called on instinct, though he didn’t think the Blue Paladin could hear him.

Keith nearly had an aneurysm when the assassin pushed Lance over the edge. He felt his whole world freeze, he couldn’t remember how to make his body move, to speak. All he could think about was his last words to Lance. _Grow up._

When time seem to move again he saw Lance wrap his legs around the alien and pull him over the edge too. He remembered how to breathe again when Lance caught the railing with his hand and held on tight.

Keith’s eyes dashed around the room, frantically searching for the stairs to the balcony. He didn’t have a plan, but he didn’t have time to make one, all he knew was he needed to get up there and help Lance. He nearly cried for joy when he spotted the entrance to the staircase hidden behind a silk curtain. He was about to make his move when the alien’s voice boomed across the room. “For Zarkon.”

Keith’s gaze returned to the balcony. Lance and the assassin had made it back up, and the alien had a sniper aimed right at the King, but then a blur of blue was on him and his shot flew harmlessly into the air.

The room broke into chaos.

Marguulians were running everywhere. Keith ran to the potted plant where he had hidden his Bayard (as if he was gonna leave it outside like Allura suggested) and tried to get to the staircase without being trampled; but each time he got close, a wave of stampeding Marguulians carried him somewhere else in the room. After his third attempt he was carried right to Shiro and the King.

The King stared blankly ahead in shock as Shiro patted his hand. Keith figured he should at least pretend to care, seeing as he was the leader of Voltron and all. “Is he okay?” He called to Shiro over the screams.

Shiro nodded and that was enough for Keith. He went to make attempt number four at getting through the crowd but the King grabbed his wrist. He looked back as the King sputtered, “he - he saved me. The Blue Paladin. He saved me. I should be dead. I was going to die but he jumped in the way.”

Keith nodded, feeling a bit more sympathy for the Marguulian King. He grabbed His Majesty’s wrists. “Yes he did.” He looked up at the balcony, he couldn’t see Lance or the assassin anymore, he needed to get up there. “And now somebody needs to save him.”

Keith leapt up onto a chair and grabbed one of the giant draperies hanging from the ceiling. “Shiro, you protect the King, tell Hunk, Pidge and Allura they’re on crowd control. I’m going after the assassin.”

“Yes, sir,” Shiro said in his annoying proud-parent voice, but Keith didn’t have time to dwell on that.

He held on tight to the drapery and propelled himself forward, swinging over the unnavigable stampede. He let go and attempted a graceful landing on the other side of the crowd, much to his own surprise he landed on his feet. Then he was dashing up the stairs, on his way to help Lance, praying that he wasn’t too late.

By the time he reached the top of the steps he had already thought of a hundred ways to punish the assassin for trying to kill his friend.

Keith was nearly feral when he saw that the alien with a limp Lance thrown over his shoulder, heading for the exit.

Keith activated his Bayard. “Put him down. _Now_.”

The assassin turned around with a wicked laugh. “Ah, the angry one come to play.” He carelessly readjusted Lance’s body on his shoulder. It took all of Keith’s willpower not to charge, but he didn’t want to put Lance at risk.

Keith snarled. “I said, put him down.”

He wasn’t even sure if Lance was _alive_. Seeing the Blue Paladin hang there like a dead bug made Keith itch all over, a feeling he first experienced that night Sendak invaded the Castle of Loins; but he pushed those thoughts away, because something deep in his gut told him Lance was still alive, he had to be.

The alien didn’t seem threatened by Keith in the slightest, in fact he _smiled_ at him, which was never a good sign.

He unceremoniously ripped Lance off his shoulder and held him up. Keith let out a sigh of relief when he saw Lance really was alive, although paralyzed, probably by some drug.

Lance’s head lulled forward, but the alien cupped his chin with one of his beefy hands. “You’re going to get all worked up over _this_?” He laughed. “Although, by human standards, he is rather good looking. Perhaps I’ll keep him for myself.”

The assassin stroked the Blue Paladin’s hair as he whispered something in his ear. The alien was far too close to Lance for Keith’s liking. He didn’t know what the alien said to Lance, but when Lance’s eyes widened with pure fear, Keith lost it.

He charged the assassin, who promptly tossed Lance aside, which further fueled Keith’s anger. The Red Paladin brought his sword down on the alien with ferocity. He swiped at the assassin, who dodged and then retaliated by attacking Keith with all four of his fists. Keith blocked the attack with his sword. He noted that the assassin was strong, but slow. He rolled to dodge another blow and popped back up, swinging his sword at the alien’s shoulder. The assassin let out a grunt as Keith’s sword sliced his skin.

The alien couldn’t hide his surprise that Keith had landed a hit. Keith used this brief moment of distraction to check on Lance, glancing over to see if he was okay, which was a big mistake, because in that moment something clicked for the assassin.

“Oh I see,” he murmured, wiping away some of the green blood that now oozed from his shoulder. “You like the color blue, don’t you?”

Keith tried his best to ignore him. “Can we just fight?” He shot back.

The assassin threw one of his rock hard fists at Keith, but he blocked the blow as another fist came from the other direction, which Keith ducked under.

“I like the color blue too,” the alien cooed. “So much that I’m gonna start collecting blue things, and I think I know what to start with.”

Keith tried to drown out his words, only focusing on the fight. He was the leader of Voltron, he had trained for this, he could do this.

The assassin threw another punch and Keith blocked it with his sword, but this time the alien pushed against the Red Paladin’s Bayard, trying to use his weight to knock him over. Keith summoned all his strength to hold his ground.

“It’s interesting that you’re fighting so hard, Red Paladin,” the assassin said through gritted teeth. “I’ve been surveying this party all night, and I watched as you publicly shamed him. If you asked me, I’d say blue is your _least_ favorite color.”

Keith’s eyes widened, and his strength wavered just enough for the alien to make his move. He slammed his foot into Keith’s stomach and sent him flying into the railing. Keith barely had time to get the air back into his lungs before the assassin pressed a foot into Keith’s chest, teetering him over the edge, just as he’d done with Lance.

The alien cracked all four of his humungous knuckles. “Let him go, it’s obvious you don’t want him anyway.”

Keith couldn’t bare the thought of the alien taking Lance. He rasped out a pitiful, “No.”

The frantic party guests below screamed, which seemed to give the assassin energy, apparently he enjoyed having an audience; but now it was Keith’s turn to exploit the alien’s weakness, he was too caught up in making a spectacle of killing Keith and not paying enough attention to what he was doing. Keith kicked his legs as hard as he could into the assassin’s stomach and they both fell back. Keith felt his stomach drop as he began falling over the railing, but he hooked the back of his knees on the bannister and caught himself. He hauled his body back onto the balcony and attacked before the assassin could reorient himself.

Now Keith was on the offensive, swiping his sword left and right as the alien desperately tried to defend himself, but everything went wrong when the assassin was able to grab ahold of Keith’s blade and threw it across the floor.

The next thing Keith knew he was being tackled to the ground, and then two giant hands were wrapped around his neck. Keith kicked the alien off, but he used his other set of arms to hold his legs down. Keith didn’t know what else to do, but no matter what, he would fight until the very end.

His vision began to blur as the assassin choked him out, but all he could think about in his final moments was how he had failed Lance twice today. Suddenly though, the alien was thrown to the side as something struck him in his already injured shoulder. Keith risked a glance at his savior to see Lance lying on the ground, holding the black Bayard in the form of a pistol.

He wanted to run to Lance, but he couldn’t waste anymore time. He leapt to his feet and body slammed the alien, sending him careening off the balcony. Keith watched him fall, making sure he wouldn’t get back up. Once he was sure the assassin was dead he ran to Lance.

“Lance.” No response. “Lance,” he called with more urgency as he dropped beside his fallen friend. Keith had no idea what the assassin had drugged Lance with, so he checked his entire body, running his hands over every surface he could, he just needed to know Lance was okay.

He was breathing, which was good, but there was a nasty gash on his head, and he was coated in sweat. Before he could stop himself, Keith reached out a hand and brushed the hair off of Lance’s face. “Talk to me, Lance, come on.” Keith pressed his hands to Lance’s cheeks and tenderly rubbed his thumbs back and forth. “Lance, please, say something. _Anything_. Make fun of my hair, call me a party-pooper, brag about coming out of a coma to save me _again._ I just want to hear your voice.”

Ever so slowly the muscles in Lance’s jaw moved. Then, a weak word escaped his lips. “K-Keith.”

Then Lance’s body went limp in Keith’s arms. The Red Paladin didn’t even hesitate before scooping Lance up into his arms. He carried him down the stairs, gently readjusting his head on his shoulder to make sure he was comfortable.

When he reached the bottom the ballroom was completely silent, the Marguul people stared at them in complete shock and awe.

“Our saviors!” One cried out, and the crowd exploded into murmurs and cheers.

Keith didn’t have time for this though. He charged ahead, and the crowd parted for him as he moved. Some of the Marguulians whispered as he went by but he didn’t care, all he could focus on right now was getting Lance to a healing pod.

Shiro pushed through the crowd and walked briskly beside him. “I can take Lance if you want, you must be spent after that fight.”

“I got it,” Keith said, not taking his eyes off the slack face nestled between his neck and shoulder blade.

“Just like last time,” Shiro laughed. “Maybe this time he’ll actually remember.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4: Lance wakes up and the Marguuls are obsessed...


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Me: *Rising from the ashes months later with another chapter in one hand and Dunkin' Donuts in the other* "What’d I miss?"

_There was an assassin, there was Keith, then there was nothing._

 

Darkness overcame his senses, a calming nothingness, the kind you feel right as you’re drifting off to sleep. This feeling overtook his entire body, that was, until a loud hissing noise brought him back to reality.

The next thing Lance knew he was stumbling out of the healing pod, a strong hand instantly at his shoulder, steadying him.

Shiro.

“Lance, how do you you feel?”

He blinked, his eyes adjusting to the bright lights of the med bay. “I’ve been better…but I’ve also been worse.”

“That’s a start,” Shiro chuckled.

Lance had no time to respond as giant arms crashed into him and pulled him into a hug, followed by a smaller pair of arms latching onto his lower half. He found himself buried in a pile of bodies and tear stained faces.

“Lance buddy, we were so worried about you,” Hunk sobbed, squeezing Lance even tighter.

“Don’t do that again, idiot,” Pidge scolded, although he could hear the relief in her voice.

“Yeah, _idiot_ ,” Matt added from the doorway, a playful grin on his face.

A grin spread across Lance’s face to match it. Matt had come to the party, per his request. “Well, well, well, look who showed his ugly face around here”

“Hey, don't talk about Shiro that way, Lance.”

An offended gasp gurgled out of Shiro’s throat, causing Matt to throw his head back and let out a hardy laugh. Hunk started to cry even harder and tightened his grip on Lance. “I’m glad to see your sense of humor is still in tact.”

“Alright Hunk, Pidge, set the poor boy free,” Shiro chided. “Or you’re gonna send him right back into the pod with that bone crushing hug.”

The duo finally let Lance go just as Allura and Coran came hurrying into the room, looking as if they had just dashed across the entire castle to get there. In her arms, Allura balanced multiple juice boxes and snacks, Coran was right behind her picking up whatever she dropped as she walked.

Her face lit up when she saw him. “Lance, you’re okay,” she cried, dumping her items on the table and running over to give him a hug.

Coran shuffled over as well, throwing the objects in his arm over his shoulder as he moved. “Thank the Ancients,” he cheered as he waited for his turn to give Lance a hug, but Allura grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him into their cuddle puddle.

When they pulled away, Shiro stepped forward and began inspecting Lance. The older man looked him up and down, his brow furrowed with worry, ever the team dad. When he was satisfied with what he saw he clasped Lance on the shoulder. “All things considered, Lance, you don’t look too worse for wear.”

“I mean I did just get out of the healing pod.” Lance looked Shiro up and down. “What’s your excuse.”

“Ooh, burn,” Matt said, already sucking on one of Allura’s juice boxes.

“Hey,” Shiro chuckled. “Between you and Keith these past few days I’ve had a lot to worry about. You two are gonna give me wrinkles.”

Lance winked. “Wrinkles? On that beautiful face? Impossible.”

Allura took Lance by the hand and pulled him over to an examination table. She sat him down and handed him some food and a juice box, everyone else gathered around him. It was the first moment he realized Keith wasn’t here. Shiro had mentioned Keith had worried him these past few days, had he been injured in the fight? Lance glanced over the other healing pods to see if any had been used recently. He let out a sigh of relief once he was sure he had been the only one who needed one. But where was Keith then…and more importantly why did Lance feel so desperate to see him right now?

Coran clapped, dragging Lance away from his thoughts. “Now that you’re awake we have great news! The Marguuls-”

“Oh we don’t need to bother him with politics right now,” Shiro cut in. “He just woke up.” The team shared some knowing glances with one another, and Lance wasn’t so sure he was gonna like this news, but nevertheless, he was a Paladin of Voltron, he was sure he could handle it. Besides, how bad could it be?

Lance picked up one of the more palatable looking items of space food Allura brought and shoved it into his mouth. “No, it’s okay, I wanna hear this.”

Allura handed him one of the juice boxes. “Technically, the Marguuls have agreed to join the coalition.”

“That’s great news!” Lance said, stabbing the straw into his box.

Coran cleared his throat. “Yes, but only because they believe you and Keith are their heroes.”

Lance let out a little chuckle. “That’s okay, I _guess_ I don’t mind sharing the glory with Keith.”

Allura and Coran shared a quick glance before the Princess added, “you and Keith…together.”

Lance cocked his head. “Okay.”

She leaned forward. “Together.”

“Uh huh.”

“ _Together.”_

 _“_ Yeah, got it.”

“Together, together.”

“So you’ve said.”

“TOGETHER.”

Allura stared at him with an intense gaze. Lance flicked his eyes over to Coran who merely winked and mouthed “together.”

Lance gulped. “Wait.”

“Together!” Hunk cheered. “As in-”

“No.”

“You two-”

“You don’t have to-”

“Are K-I-S-S-I-N-”

“I think he gets it,” Shiro cut in, placing a hand on Hunk’s shoulder. Though it didn’t seem to qualm the Yellow Paladin’s excitement any. He and Pidge looked as though they were about to burst into laughter as they stared Lance down.

Lance felt sick to his stomach. How could the Marguul’s possibly think he and Keith were, well, _together_?! He and Keith were friends at the best of times. Oh god, he and Keith… _Keith_ , where was he anyway?

“In case you’re wondering, Keith is out with the Marguul’s now,” Shiro added, as if he could read Lance’s mind.

Lance sucked out the last of the juice from his pouch. “God he must be hating this.”

“Yes, well…” Allura scratched the back of her head. “The attention isn’t the problem, the problem is everyone is, what’s the word you used Matt?”

Matt leaned against the pod, loving this a little too much. “Shipping, Princess.” He turned his attention towards Lance. “They ship you and Keith.”

“We’re afraid,” Hunk added, adopting a more serious tone now. “That if they discovered you two aren’t actually dating, that they’ll pull out of the deal, and we really need them on our side.”

Lance shrugged. “Hey, I’m always game for a little fake dating.” He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s a chance to stretch the ol’ acting muscle.”

Pidge nodded solemnly. “I hate to admit it but you were a perfect Fiyero when the Garrison did _Wicked_.”

“And curse your silky smooth singing voice,” Hunk sniffled from beside her.

Allura grabbed both of Lance’s shoulders. “Lance, it is of the utmost importance that we get them to sign those coalition papers, which they are willing to do after they throw a party for the er - lovely couple - tomorrow night.” She dropped into a crouch in front of him and took his hands in hers. Something soft washed over her face as she stared up at him. “I know we’re asking a lot from you and you’re still healing but, we need you.”

Lance gave her hands a little squeeze. “No sweat, Princess, I’m a Paladin of Voltron, I think I can handle this.”

Her eyes lit up.

“Good.” Shiro reached out a hand to help Lance to his feet. “Now go join Keith. He’s barely gotten any sleep since you entered the pod and now he’s out there,” Shiro shuttered, “ _socializing_.”

Lance sucked in a deep breath. “Keith on a good day is bad with his social skills, so I can only imagine-”

“Yes, we know,” Pidge said as she began pushing Lance from behind. “So go out there and save our coalition deal.”

Lance couldn’t help but laugh. “Wait a second, I-”

“Yeah, yeah, help us Obi-wan Kenobi you’re our only hope and all that jazz.” And with that, he was being shuffled out the door and on his way to Keith…who was apparently now his boyfriend.

 

———-

 

Allura and Coran ushered Lance through the castelship, explaining to him what he had missed these past few days. Apparently the Marguuls had been in constant celebration mode, even going as far as making Keith and Lance merchandise. Right now, they were having a luncheon to which Keith was the guest of honor. The King begged Keith to wear his so called “super suit,” so Allura had forced him to put on his armor, she made Lance put his on as well. They stopped just before the castle doors and Allura nodded at him. “Are you ready?”

Lance shot her a grin. “Oh yeah.”

“No you’re not.” She winked.

Before Lance could ask what she meant, she and Coran shoved him out the door. It only took an instant for him to realize what she meant _._ A gigantic crowd of Marguuls waited for him, in fact, the palace grounds were covered with them milling around. When they noticed Lance was on the castleship steps, they erupted into cheers. Normally Lance would love the fanfare, but he was honestly just so confused right now. What was happening?

The King came bounding up the steps and grabbed his hand, hoisting it triumphantly above his head. “My people, the other half of our noble duo is awake! Rejoice!”

The crowd burst into cheers once again, and were those… _fireworks_ he saw on the horizon?

Lance cleared his throat. “Uh, speaking of which, where is my…other half?” He scanned the crowd, desperately searching for Keith, silently cursing himself for wanting to see that dummy so bad.

“Ah, yes of course, I’m sorry we’ve been hogging the pilot of the Black Lion all day, I’m sure you’re dying to see him.” The King clapped his hands together. “Fetch the love of this hero’s life at once!”

Lance blinked. The love of his life? He literally just woke up from a coma, he hadn’t been awake long enough for this.

A few servants hurried out of the castle, pulling Keith along with them, many Marguulians trailed behind him, fawning over the Black Paladin and taking his picture as he was tugged along. The moment Keith came into view, something tight released in Lance’s chest. His team leader was a sight for sore eyes, especially considering that the last time they saw each other, they had both almost died.

Keith looked grumpy as ever. No surprise there. He must’ve hated all this attention and pampering from the Marguulians. The thought of it almost made Lance laugh. He watched as Keith wiggled out of the servants’ grip and crossed his arms. “Where are you taking me _now_?” He huffed.

One of the servants pointed towards Lance, and when Keith finally saw him, something washed over his face that Lance couldn’t quite pinpoint. In an instant Keith was pushing aside Marguulians to get to the front of the crowd. Lance took a step forward, ready to run and meet his new boyfriend halfway, but the King stopped him.

“Wait, Blue Paladin.” The King grabbed at Lance’s arm and pulled him back. His intentions were harmless, but apparently he was unaware that a person who was recently beaten and poisoned is usually sore for some time afterwards, and tugging on their limbs is not a wise thing to do.

Lance doubled over in pain. Bracing his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He could still see Keith out fo the corner of his eye, who stopped dead in his tracks the second Lance’s face twisted in agony.

Lance could read the expression on Keith’s face like a book. It was one he’d seen many times before, usually when they were in the heat of battle and a Galra attacked one of their teammates. Say what you will about Keith’s leadership skills, but touch a member of his team and you’re dead.

Keith reached for his Bayard but Lance raised a hand to signal he was okay. Slowly, he straightened himself up and shot Keith a little pained smile. His team leader wasn’t quite buying it, but it was enough to calm him.

The King grimaced. “Sorry about that, I just wanted to tell you that my daughter has been eagerly waiting for you to regain consciousness. She has a gift for you” The King nodded towards somewhere behind Lance, and the Blue Paladin turned to see Zella standing behind him, a plate of cake in her hands.

“Zella!” Lance laughed.

“Lance, I had the kitchen make this Keyra cake for you.” She smiled meekly. “I figured you didn’t get a chance to enjoy any at the party since you were… preoccupied.” She held out the cake for him, a dark red blush encompassing her beautiful orange face.

“Thank you, that’s very sweet.” Lance reached for the plate, accidentally brushing her fingers in the process. He held his hand there for a moment, before remembering the charade he’s supposed to be keeping up. He pulled his hand back. “Er - sorry.”

Zella pulled her hands back too, plate and all. “No, no, the fault is all mine.” She glanced over her shoulder to see Keith was approaching, then she stepped forward and whispered so only Lance could hear, “if I’m being honest, Blue Paladin, I did not know you and he were an item. I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped my bounds.”

Lance opened his mouth to respond but Keith inserted himself between them before any words could come out. “Oh Zella you brought dessert, thank goodness I’m starving,” Keith said nonchalantly, reaching for the cake with his hands like the caveman he was.

Lance smacked him on the arm. “Keith, don’t be rude.”

Keith swiveled around to face him.

“Besides you don’t even like Keyra.”

Keith feigned innocence. “How would you know, I’ve never even tried it, remember?”

For a whisper of a second, things felt normal, just Keith and Lance teasing each other, and no one else, but when the King butted in, Lance remembered where they were and the circumstances they were under.

“My people,” the King called out, grabbing Keith and Lance’s hands. The Marguulians fell silent as he addressed them. “Amidst all this war and turmoil, these two young men have traveled the universe fighting for peace.” He smiled. “…and for love.” Keith stiffened at that. “Despite all the treachery they see, and the danger they face every single day. Despite the fact that either of them could die on any one of their missions-” Lance bit the inside of his cheek. Technically the King was right, but still, he didn’t need to say it out loud. “-These two still found each other. And-” the raised their clasped hands into the air, apparently his favorite move to please the crowd. “They both fought for _us._ Which is why we shall be joining their coalition tomorrow.” The crowd burst into deafening screams. “After we have a _full_ day of celebrating our new favorite couple!” Lance didn’t think it was possible, but somehow the crowd’s screams got even louder.

The King dropped their hands and moved to stand beside his daughter. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and then stared at the two Paladins expectantly. Lance quickly realized he was waiting for them to do something couple-y, so without thinking he wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. Keith let a rigid breath out of his nose. He was hiding his discomfort well, but Lance can see past the walls he puts up. He’d apologize later, but for now, the Marguuls were eating this up. A collective “aww” arose from the crowd.

“Tell me,” the King gushed. “What’s it like to fight side by side, like some sort of space ranger partners?”

“Oh, you know,” Lance laid it on thick. “We’ve always been Keith and Lance, neck and neck. Isn’t that right, Mullet?”

Zella’s eyes went wide. “Did you hear that, father? He has a cute nickname for Keith.”

The King squealed like a school girl. “I did, my child! Now Keith, do you have any cute names for Lance?”

Keith blinked. “Um, I call him…Lance?”

The crowd burst into laughter.

The King literally wiped a tear from his eye. “Oh, you kill me, Keith.”

“Yeah me too,” Lance grumbled under his breath.

Keith shot him a quick look before adding, “I also call him ‘idiot’ a lot.”

That one really killed the crowd.

“Hoh oh,” Lance laughed through gritted teeth. “He’s a jokester. Aren’t you, Samurai?”

“I love you Lance and Keith!” A Marguulian called from the crowd, causing them all to break into ear pricing cheers and chants.

Clearly, Keith had had enough, so he grabbed Lance’s hand and pulled him back into the Castle of Lions. “Well, we’d love to stick around but we’ve got to rest before the big day tomorrow.”

“Of course!” The King called out over the crowd as Keith pulled Lance back into the Castleship. “See you tomorrow for the festivities!”

Keith slammed the doors behind them and exhaled, finally letting the exhaustion show on his face. Lance didn’t feel too great himself, he practically toppled onto the his team leader, but Keith’s reflexes were quick, and he caught Lance’s shoulders. “Hey,” he whispered as he steadied the Blue Paladin. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s just that I literally got out of a healing pod 15 minutes ago and this is…well, a lot.” Lance attempted to take a step but stumbled. Keith instantly wrapped an arm around his waist to help him walk. A part of Lance wished he didn’t have to rely on Keith, but he felt too weak to argue. He wrapped an arm around the Red Paladin’s shoulders as they headed down the corridor.

Keith nodded. “I get it.” His eyes darted up and down Lance before he added, “how are you, by the way?”

“I’m okay, or at least I was until I realized you don’t have any cute nicknames for me.”

Keith crinkled his nose. “You don’t have any for me, either!”

“What are you talking about?”

“And names like Mullet, Hot-head, or Dropout do _not_ count.”

“Are you kidding? Those are adorable!” Lance smiled smugly, which Keith responded to with a very eloquent eye roll. “Besides, I have others. What about Samurai? Team Leader? Buddy?”

Keith shot him a very cold look. Lance was sure that if he wasn’t injured Keith would’ve dropped kicked him down the hall by now. “Why don’t you go ask Zella if _she_ has any cute nicknames for you?”

Lance recoiled. “Man, what is it with you and her? Did she kick a puppy in front of you or something?”

Keith fell silent for a moment, the only sounds were their footsteps echoing down the hallway. His voice was quiet when he spoke again. “It’s nothing.”

“Keith, I-”

“I said it’s nothing!” He snapped.

Lance chewed the inside of his cheek. “Keith, look, if we’re gonna be fake dating then we have to get along. The Marguuls may not join the coalition if they find out this isn’t real.”

“This is going to be really hard,” Keith huffed.

A sharp pain panged in Lance’s chest. “Oh, really? I thought…” he blew some hair out of his nose. “I thought we knew each other pretty well.” Keith shot him a hesitant look. “You know, because I’m your right hand man and all.” And one of his best friends too, although Lance didn’t say that part out loud, Keith was clearly in a bad mood and he did not want to set him off again.

They continued down the hall, and despite Keith’s hardened expression, his touches were soft as he gently kept one hand around Lance’s waist to steady him, the other hand grasping his wrist. Every so often Keith would rub one of his thumbs along Lance’s body, which he was sure his team leader was doing subconsciously, but Lance didn’t care, it was a great comfort to him in his current state of helplessness.

“Look.” Keith shook his head, shaggy hair falling into his eyes. “Let’s just get through today and tomorrow, okay? How hard can it be?”

“Jeez, when you say it like that it sounds like you’d rather have a tea party with Zarkon than pretend to be with me.”

“That’s not-” Keith snapped, but then took a deep breath to calm himself. “This is a complicated situation, not a game, Lance. So let’s set some boundaries and agree on what we’re gonna say so we can get this over with.”

Lance stiffened. He was getting tired of Keith’s bad attitude. “Yes, let us get this truly painful experience over with.”

Keith scowled. “Fine by me.”

“Fine.”

“Good.”

“Great, even.”

“Wonderful.”

“Some might even dare to call it magnificent!”

“Ahem.” Came a voice from the doorway. It was Matt, shaking his head at their idiotic back and forth. A glint in his eyes. Lance knew he had something planned and was scared for what it could possibly be. “Sorry to interrupt, love birds, but Coran and I have a little surprise for you.”

The Paladins shared a worried glance before following the Rebel Leader into the kitchen. Despite their “lover’s quarrel,” whatever Matt had planned, they were already in agreement that they were both gonna hate it.

 

———-

 

 

Keith and Lance sat at the kitchen table, side by side. Lance was scarfing down a bowl of food, he forgot how hungry being in the pod can make a guy. Coran and Matt sat across from them, looking very pleased with themselves. Pidge and Hunk were off to the side, clearly here just to watch Lance and Keith be tortured. Hunk leaned against the kitchen counter, whereas Pidge had plunked herself on top of it and was joyously swinging her legs back and forth, sipping a juice box, eager for the show to begin.

Coran placed his hands on the table, one folded over the other. “Boys, you’re probably wondering why we called you here.”

“We’re not mad.” Matt placed a hand on Coran’s shoulder. “We’re just disappointed.”

Keith set his jaw. He clearly wanted to object to whatever was about to happen. He looked to Lance for some backup, but the Blue Paladin couldn’t talk due to the constant flow of food being shoveled into his mouth. Keith sighed, giving in. “Fine, what do you want?”

“You’re not in trouble, however, you need to do better.” Matt mirrored Coran’s position of crossing his hands on the table. They looked like two parents scolding their kids after they got called to the principal’s office. Lance wanted to laugh at that, but he felt now wasn’t the best time.“The rebels and the Blades have been trying to get the Marguuls as allies for _years_ and this is the closest we’ve ever come.”

Coran nodded. “And we are not about to ruin it just because you two get your jollies from this stupid rivalry you have.”

“Isht not shtupid,” Lance said, mouth full of food. Keith rolled his eyes and handed him a napkin.

“Nevertheless,” Matt went on, placing a hand over Coran’s. “Your parent figure and I-”

“Parent figure? Coran?” Keith crossed his arms. “What about Shiro?”

Matt raised an eyebrow. “Does Shiro _really_ count?”

Keith blinked. “Point taken, continue.”

“Anyway, Coran and I came up with a little game to help you!”

Coran pulled a bunch of cards up onto the table. “We’re going to ask you questions about one other, and you get a point every time you get one right.” Coran rubbed his hands together. “Doesn’t that sound fun?”

Lance wiped his mouth with the napkin, eager to get this over with. “Sounds like a real hoot and a half,” he groaned. 

Hunk and Pidge snickered from the corner. Lance assumed they helped assemble this game night from Hell.

Matt picked the first card up. “Okay, Keith, this one should be easy. What is Lance the Paladin of?”

Coran plucked the card from Matt’s hands. “Right, actually, that one has no real answer. He flies the Red Lion but people still refer to him as the Blue Paladin, honestly it’s quite confusing.” He crumpled the card and tossed it over his shoulder.

Matt nodded, grabbing another card from the pile. “Okay then, moving on. Lance, what is Keith’s favorite pass time?”

Lance leaned back in his chair. “Uh, training?”

“Ooh, I’m sorry, the correct answer is ‘riding his hover bike.’”

Coran picked up the next card. “Keith, what is Lance’s nighttime routine?”

“I don’t know, going to sleep?” Keith scoffed. “Does any of the is really matter anyway? We can just fake it for the Marguuls.”

He stood up to leave but Matt slammed a hand onto the table. “Yes, it does matter.” Keith froze. “Fake relationship or not, you two have been teammates for quite some time, you should at least know something about one another.” Keith held Matt’s icy stare for a few moments before conceding and sitting back down. Matt picked up another card. “This one’s for Keith again. What is Lance’s favorite food?”

Keith considered the question for a moment. Lance could’ve sworn he could actually hear the gears ticking in his leader’s head. For a moment, he thought Keith might actually have an answer, but eventually he just sighed and said, “I’m not sure.”

Matt’s eye twitched. “Keith-”

“I’m not sure, _because_ it depends on what category we’re talking about. He loves garlic knots, but if we’re talking dessert then it’s all things Keyra flavored, but then drinks are a whole other animal.”

Matt and Coran looked stunned, heck, even Lance’s jaw was on the floor, but Keith didn’t seem to notice as he went on.

“His favorite used to be Pepsi, but once he learned how to milk Kaltenecker he finally came to his senses and switched to milkshakes.”

Hunk let out a little squeal of joy from behind them, but if Keith heard it, he ignored it.

Matt’s eyes flicked to the card then back to the Leader of Voltron. “Correct.”

Keith stared at Matt, face as unreadable as ever. “Happy?”

“It’s a start.”

Lance was confused. Were they trying now? Should he try too? Would he even be able to get an answer right if he did try, or would he just embarrass himself? The whole game felt like a trap, if he got one right then he came off as a stalker who knew too much about Keith, and if he got it wrong then he came off as a jerk who didn’t pay any attention to his teammate.

Coran picked up the next card. “Lance.”

Lance let out a groan.

“What is Keith’s most prized possession?”

Lance pinched the bridge of his nose. “The…uh…um.” He squeezed his eyes shut, he was pretty sure he knew this one. Then it dawned on him. “The knife! The knife his mother left him…oh and probably Shiro.”

“Only on his good days.” Keith shrugged.

Lance elbowed the Red Paladin in the ribs. “ _And_ the misconception that he’s right about everything, like the stupid idea that Coke is better than Pepsi.”

“Well it is.” The faintest of smiles crossed Keith’s face. “But yes, that conception is _very_ near and dear to my heart, good job Lance.”

The two boys stared at each other, a challenge, although it wasn’t like before. They weren’t fighting, they were having fun. Lance didn’t want to admit it but, he loved when Keith was like this with him, playful yet pushing him to be better.

“The knife was correct!” Coran cheered, pumping a fist in the air. “Now we’re cooking with butter!”

“Gas,” Matt corrected.

“Now we’re cooking with gas!”

Matt flitted his fingers over the pile and dramatically swiped the next card. His eyes quickly scanned it before he shot Keith a devious look. “Okay Red Paladin, what color are Lance’s eyes? And no cheating.”

Keith scowled, making a big show of turning away so it was obvious he wasn’t looking at Lance’s eyes. Lance scoffed, and everyone calls _him_ the dramatic one.

“His eyes are blue.” Keith paused for a moment, resting his cheek in his hand, then added, “but not like a sky blue, more of an ocean blue. An azure blue. Actually, I take that back, when the light hits them just right they turn into the kind of blue the sky is right after the sun sets but right before the stars come out…I guess?”

Lance heard Pidge choke on her juice behind him, followed by Hunk slapping her back to help her cough it up. The Blue Paladin touched his hand to his face. Really? Is that what Keith thought of his eyes?

Matt bit his lip in an ill attempt to hide a smile. “I’m sorry, but the answer we were looking for was actually ‘dark blue,’” Matt flipped the card around to show Keith. “Better luck next time.”

Keith blinked. “Wait, but I-”

“Righty ho,” Coran sang, reaching for another card. “On to the next. Lance.” Lance sucked in a breath, not really sure how he could follow up whatever that was that just happened. “Where is Keith from?”

Lance scraped the last remnants of food off his plate and into his mouth. “Earth.” He swallowed, should he add more? Keith added more. He can’t let Keith one-up him. “Well, Texas, a shack in Texas to be specific. However for a couple of years he was moved around from home to home after his dad passed. Then when Shiro found him he stayed at the Garrison.” He licked his fork. “But, he’s also part Galra on his mom’s side, so his family is from Daibazaal too. Which I honestly think is great, because he can act as a bridge between the species, which I think is like, the future.”

Keith leaned towards Lance, his expression soft, his eyebrows arched. “Wait, what do you mean by-”

“I’ll give it to you,” Coran said, twirling his mustache. “However we also would’ve accepted just ‘Texas.’”

Keith’s face went white, forgetting whatever he was going to ask Lance before. “Hey wait, why did his long winded answer count but not mine?”

Matt straightened out his stack of cards. “Because the Overlords of this game said so.” He and Coran high fived. “Alright Keith, you’re lagging in points, so what is Lance’s favorite animal?”

“Sharks.”

Coran read the next card. “Lance, what was Keith’s favorite class at the Garrison?”

“The flight simulator.” Lance gave Keith’s arm a light punch. “And beating up James Griffin.”

“Keith, what is Lance’s favorite movie?” asked Matt.

“ _Predator_ …although it’s also secretly _The Devil Wears Prada_ , he just doesn’t tell many people that.”

“Lance, my boy.” Coran squinted at his card. “What was the first thing Keith ever stole?”

“Your card probably says Shiro’s car, but that’s a lie, that was the second thing he stole.” He leaned towards Keith, unable to hide his excitement, he was so going to win this game. “The first was when he was a kid and he stole a bracelet from a girl in his class. It was because she was teasing another girl about how she had one more than her, so she’d always be one better.” Lance winked at Keith. “And the third thing he stole was my heart.”

Keith pushed Lance’s head away, letting out a half groan half laugh.

“Save it for the Marguuls, Lover Boy,” Matt teased, not even looking up from his card. “And Keith, what is Lance afraid of?”

Keith smacked his lips together. “Well.” He paused, as if he was picking the proper words to say. “I think he’s afraid of being a seventh wheel. Like he doesn’t have a place on Voltron. Which couldn’t be farther from the truth.” Keith’s eyes met Lance’s. Gray meeting blue. “He doesn’t fit into a particular role like the rest of us, engineer, techie, leader, alchemist…but what he doesn’t realize is he fits into many roles, sharpshooter, goofball, stability… and my right hand man.” A smile that looked, dare Lance even think it, _fond_ spread across Keith’s face.

Lance and Keith stared at one another, neither able to say a word, neither able to break eye contact, that was until Matt intervened.

“Um, uh…” The Rebel Leader cleared his throat. “Spiders, the correct answer is spiders.”

Keith scrambled back into his chair, not realizing how close he was leaning towards Lance. “Right, of course. Silly me.”

“Goody, it’s my turn,” Coran cheered, blissfully unaware of the awkwardness in the room. He drew another card. “Lance, when did Keith become the leader of Voltron?

Lance rubbed his chin. He knew the answer, of course, but he felt as though there was something more that needed to be said. “Technically he became the leader when the Black Lion chose him, but he _truly_ became a leader when he finally stopped comparing himself to Shiro and started to develop his own style of leadership.” A small laugh escaped him. “And a pretty great one at that.”

“The correct answer was ‘the beginning of this Deca-Phoeb’ but I like that one better,” Coran choked out, wiping a tear from his eye.

Hunk sniffled from the corner. “Me too.”

Matt picked up Lance’s discarded napkin and handed it to Coran to dry his eyes with. “Alright, I think that’s enough for today.”

Pidge slid off the counter and patted Hunk on the arm. “Agreed, it’s getting too mushy in here.”

Matt and pidge nodded at one another before heading out of the room, the other’s murmured in agreement as they followed, leaving Lance and Keith alone. A silence fell over the room, although, not an uncomfortable one. Keith stared at the door, as if he was ready to leave at a moments notice, and yet, something kept him from going.

Lance picked up one of the discarded cards from the table and examined it. “You know, maybe this wasn’t such a dumb idea after all. Turns out we’re not so bad at this game, either.” He twirled the card in his fingers. “I mean, I’m better because I got more points but, still, good game.”

Keith turned to face him. “You only won because they didn’t count that answer I _clearly_ got right.”

“I don’t know man, you never explicitly said ‘dark blue,’” Lance teased.

“I said blue!”

“Fine, then let’s give you a chance to redeem yourself.” Lance brought the card in his hand up to his face and read it aloud. “Keith, what is Lance’s favorite song?”

A competitive glint shone in Keith’s eyes. “Depends, favorite English or Spanish song?”

Lance leaned forward, their knees touching now, although neither of them paid it any mind as they looked into one others’ eyes. “Oh, you are good, Kogane.”

“Or is there one that’s both?” Keith cocked his head. “You strike me as a _Despacito_ type of man.”

“ _Despacito_ is not my favorite song.” Lance placed a hand on his heart, acting as though Keith had just insulted his mother. “However, I did learn how to play it on guitar because my girl loves it so much.”  
“Pidge?”

“Kaltenecker.”

“Ah.”

They both let out a soft laugh. When silence washed over them again Lance figured they were done here. He stood up, pushing his chair out from behind him. Keith quickly followed suit, stretching as he stood. Not taking his eyes off of Lance the entire time.

The Red Paladin cracked his neck. “It doesn’t matter what that card says. Anybody who truly knows you knows that all you have to do is play Lady Gaga’s album, _The Fame_ , and you’ll be on the dance floor for hours.”

Lance fanned himself with the card. “Sorry, Pretty Boy, that’s not what the card says.”

“I’ll show you a pretty boy.” Keith launched forward grabbing at the card, Lance held it out of reach as his fearless leader tried to climb over him to get it. Neither one of them was able to hold in their laughter. Eventually, though, Keith gave up. They strolled out of the kitchen together, Lance tossing the card over his shoulder and back onto the table as they left.

“Hey,” Lance said, bumping their shoulders together. “Can you really not think of _any_ cute nicknames to call me?’

Keith hesitated. “Um, the Blue Paladin?”

Lance smacked his hand against his forehead.

Keith wrapped an arm around Lance’s waist, most likely because he was afraid Lance’s body would give out again, but Lance didn’t dwell on the reasons. He just let himself enjoy it while it lasted.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist McClain, I’ll work on it.”

A mischievous smile came to Lance’s lips. “Panties? Well here’s another question for you. True or false, Lance goes commando under his Paladin armor.”

Keith’s mouth dropped open. “Lance!”

“I’m sorry, that was not the answer we were looking for,” Lance teased relentlessly.

Keith grabbed Lance’s hand and pulled him along, unable to even look him in the eye.“Come on, jerk.”

“That’s still not a cute nickname!”

 

———-

 

They stood before Allura, so solemn you’d think they were standing before a firing squad. She looked them all up and down, clearly unimpressed. They had been through so much, battles, Lion switches, near death experiences, but this…? Lance shuddered.

Allura stopped before him. “It is time.” They all held their breath. “To dance.” They let out a collective groan. The Princess clasped her hands together, clearly enjoying this. “Partner up, Keith with Lance, obviously, Pidge with Hunk, Coran with me-”

“Ah shoot,” Shiro said, not looking the least bit disheartened. “There’s nobody for me to dance with, guess I’ll have to sit out.”

Allura placed her hands on her hips. “Nonsense, Matt will be your partner, won’t you Matt?”

Matt pushed himself off the wall, fist bumping Allura as he passed. “Anything for my Princess.”

Shiro pouted, but he didn’t fight her any further.

“Alright everyone gather round.” Allura smiled. “The Marguuls are throwing a huge ball in honor of their favorite couple, and I think it is most pressing that you have at least some idea of how to dance.”

Pidge raised her hand. “I get why Keith and Lance have to learn, but why are the rest of us here?”

“Because you could all benefit from this, and, if you refuse to participate.” Allura’s eyes suddenly went very dark. “I will tell the Marguuls you hate their desserts so they won’t serve them to you anymore out of fear they are insulting you.”

Everybody gasped at that.

“You wouldn’t,” Hunk whimpered.

“Try me.” The room fell to a dead silence. “Anyway!” Allura said, returning to her cheery disposition. “Coran and I will show you a few simple moves. Oh and Lance.”

Lance winced at the sound of his name. Was there already something wrong with his form? “Yes, Allura?”

“Take it easy, you might have some dizzy spells, and that is because you almost died.”

Lance nodded. “Oh yes, thank you for reminding me.”

Keith let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh. “You’re dumb.”

“And _you’re_ getting closer to that cute nickname.”

“Anyway,” Allura cut in. “Coran and I will now demonstrate.” The Princess placed one hand in Coran’s and the other on his shoulder. And with that, they were effortlessly gliding across the dance floor. Coran and Allura were both (to no one’s surprise) graceful dancers. At one point Coran spun her around and then pulled her into a lift.

Shiro frowned. “Okay, now you’re just showing off.”

“Now you try,” Allura encouraged, ignoring Shiro completely.

The couples all turned to one another. Keith awkwardly lifted his hand, and after a few moments, Lance hesitantly placed his own into it. Then he put a hand on his team leader’s shoulder, as his partner wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him close.

“Can you dance?” Keith asked.

Lance wiggled his eyebrows. “Like a latin Lady Gaga.”

“I mean like, ballroom dance.”

“Oh. Then no.”

Keith dropped his head onto Lance’s shoulder. “Then it’s hopeless.”

Lance was fully aware that Keith did not dance. He may have been a gazelle in battle, able to sidestep and dodge any attack, but on the dance floor, he had two left feet. Lance glanced over at Pidge and Hunk, who were struggling, then Matt and Shiro, the latter profusely apologizing for stepping on the Rebel Captain’s foot.

He leaned his head against Keith’s, which was still resting on his shoulder. “Honestly,” Lance said, not at all noting the fact that his leader’s hair was _very_ soft. “I don’t think we’ll be the worst ones here.”

Keith let out a deep breath, then he straightened back up and returned to a dance ready position. “Fine, but it’s your foot’s funeral.”

It was a bit touch and go at first. They both stepped back, then both stepped forward, but eventually they fell into a groove. They clumsily shuffled across the floor, passing Hunk and Pidge, with the Gremlin clearly taking the lead. She shot Lance an evil look. “Hey Lance, don’t you think a certain Balmeran will be impressed with Hunk’s new dancing skills?”

Hunk’s face went white. “Pidge, please.”

“Which Balmeran again?” Lance feigned innocence. “Remind me again?”

Much to Lance’s surprise, Keith joined in too. “Is it Clay, Hay, Fay?”

Lance nodded. “Fay sounds right, yes.”

“May?”

“Can we _please_ stop talking about Shay?” Hunk blurted out.

“Oooh, _Shay_ ,” Hunk’s tormentors agreed in unison.

Pidge threw her head back and let out a hardy laugh as she guided Hunk away. Lance and Keith drifted towards Matt and Shiro. Matt, shockingly, was dancing with ease, Shiro on the other hand had his head down, staring straight at his feet, trying really hard to get the steps.

Matt stared at the top of Shiro’s head. “Hey Shiro? My eyes are up here.”

“Shut up I’m concentrating,” Shiro mumbled, not even lifting his head.

“So you can survive being the Champion but not this?”

Shiro glared at his partner, shaking his head in disbelief. “How are you so good at this? Was it a dance team that broke you out of the Galra prison or something?”

Matt grabbed Shiro’s hand and spun him around. “Just follow my lead, Old Man.”

“We’re the same age,” Shiro laughed as they danced away.

Lance and Keith smiled at one another, turns out they really weren’t the worst dancers here. Lance bit back a laugh.

“What?” Keith asked.

Lance shook his head. “See? Everyone here has a cute nickname for one another. Old Man, Princess, A Rock That I Admire Very Much.”

The corner of Keith’s mouth quirked up, a look Lance had come to enjoy very much on their leader’s face. It suited him. A sort of playful happiness. But before Keith could respond, something painful seized Lance’s body. He wasn’t worried, Coran had warned him that he would be weak as the last of the poison left his body, but it was draining, nevertheless.

Lance’s vision went blurry and he lurched forward, everything going dark for a moment. He braced himself to hit the ground, but it never came. Keith’s arms were around him in seconds, pulling him up, and cradling his head against his leader’s shoulder. Lance felt so frail he couldn’t even stand, so he hung there limply, letting Keith support him.

Lance vaguely heard mesh of voices calling his name, but the only person’s words he could make out were Keith’s. “Lance, Lance are you still with me?”

This wave of weakness was much more powerful than the others he experienced. He wasn’t sure he could stay conscious during this one. He could barely move as it was.

“Hey, come on!” Keith continued, a strange tone arising in his voice. Something almost like fear? The Head of Voltron tightened his grip on his teammate’s useless body. Then Keith leaned his head against Lance’s, and lightly whispered in his ear, “Please don’t do this to me again, Darlin’.”

Something bubbled up in Lance’s chest at the sound of that. He ever so weakly opened his eyes. “Now _that_ is a cute nickname,” he rasped.

“I think Lance is done for the day,” came Coran’s voice came from somewhere behind them. “Now Keith, do you think you can help him get back to his room?”

Keith nodded, and slung one of Lance’s arms over his shoulders. They ever so slowly began making the trek back to Lance’s room, the Blue Paladin’s head still resting on his leader’s shoulder as they walked.

“Keith,” Lance drawled, his face practically buried in Keith’s neck now. “You don’t have to do this, I’m sure someone else can take me.”

“Heh.” Keith looked down at him. “Trying to get rid of me?”

“No, no, it’s just that, you fought the assassin too, I’m sure you retained some injuries. Maybe a healthier team member should be carrying me all over the place.”

“Oh yeah?” Keith tugged at Lance’s waist. “They’ll have to fight me for the honor.”

Lance lifted his head. “Oh the honor? What are you, my squire?”

“More like your knight in shining armor.”

Lance nearly choked at that. He didn’t know what was happening but there was something…new stirring inside him. Or perhaps it was something that had been there for a while, but he was only just realizing it now. Something about his team leader, and the way Lance felt about him.

“Keith!” Lance pushed off of his shoulder so he could look Keith in the eyes. “Since when do you say corny stuff like that?”

Keith rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. “I guess I’ve been hanging out with you too much lately.”

Yeah well-” Lance took a step forward, but his knees buckled right out from under him. He hadn’t quite regained his strength yet. He fell forward into Keith, who didn’t seem to mind but Lance still felt like such a nuisance. “Sorry, I’m fine to walk on my own.”

“No you’re not,” Keith growled as he swept Lance’s feet out from under him and pulled him into a bridal carry.

Lance’s heart sped up. And in that moment he started to realize why. _Uh oh,_ Lance thought. _I’m in trouble._

Keith continued heading to Lance’s room, carrying the Blue Paladin as if it were nothing. Lance blinked up at him. “Keith, you can’t just do things like this!”

“And why not?”

“B-becuase, it makes me…feel things.”

Keith furrowed his brows. “What kind of things?”

“Confusing things.”

“Oh.” Keith looked down at him, and in that moment, with his arms wrapped around Keith’s neck, and Keith staring at him like he was the most important person in the world, Lance could’ve sworn Keith felt these feelings too. “Well, I’ll be right beside you while you try to figure out these confusing things.”

All Lance could muster was a nod. Even if Keith didn’t like him back, he was lucky to have a friend like that, and he’d always want him in his life.

They arrived at Lance’s room. The doors hissed open and Keith carried his injured team member in and gently placed him on the bed.

Lance began peeling off his armor. “Hey, if you keep doing stuff like that then we’re _definitely_ gonna trick the Marguuls into believing we’re in love.”

Something dark crossed Keith’s face. “Yeah, we’re gonna fool those idiots.”

“I thought ‘idiot’ was _my_ cute nickname,” Lance teased.

But Keith wasn’t teasing. “God, Lance, am I joke to you?”

Something had shifted between them, although Lance wasn’t sure what. He stared at Keith, who had now retreated to the other side of the room. Scowl on his face, arms crossed, walls back up. “Come on Keith, you always pick fights with me and I always push your buttons, isn’t that just our dynamic?” He said gently, trying to keep this from escalating any further.

“Is that _all_ we are in your mind?”

Lance blinked. “Do you want there to be more?”

“With you?” Keith snorted. “God, no.”

Lance swallowed down a sob, or maybe it was a scream. So clearly this was going to escalate. “I thought we were friends, Keith, you don’t have to be so rude about it.”

“Why would I want to be friends with some man-child that flirts with every girl that breathes in his direction? Talk about low bearing fruit.” Keith slammed a fist against the wall. “You know what? Why don’t you go have this conversation with Zella?”

Lance rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands, how did they always end up here? “What is with you and Zella? Are you jealous or something?”

Keith opened his mouth to respond, but stopped himself. He crossed his arms and stared at the floor.

_Oh._

“I see. You _are_ jealous.” Keith winced at that, only confirming Lance’s suspicion. “You like her then?”

Keith let out a malicious laugh. “She is not my type, Lance, and if you weren’t so oblivious you would know that.”

“Me? _I’m_ the obvious one?” Lance tore his hands through his hair. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“I’m…I have feelings for you!”

A silence settled over the room. A terrifying, all-encompassing silence that echoed the words Lance had just screamed…out loud. To Keith.

His team leader stood frozen at the other end of the room. “Lance… you don’t mean that.”

Keith wanted to look anywhere except at Lance, but the Blue Paladin wouldn’t let him off that easy. Lance stared Keith down until he was forced to meet his eyes. “Yes, I do mean it.”

Keith’s eyes were cold and unreadable as he stared back. His steely gaze shot ice through Lance’s veins. “Lance I…I’m not…I don’t know.”

Lance couldn’t do anything but nod like an idiot. He sat on the bed, staring into space. Finally, he remembered how to form words. “What don’t you know?”

“I’m…I’m not sure.”

“You’re not sure what you don’t know?”

“No? Yes.”

“Keith.” Lance dropped his head into his hands. “Let’s just lay it all on the table, what good is it to tiptoe around the truth?” Lance shook his head. What was the point of pretending he didn’t feel the way he felt? What was the point of leaving Keith in the dark, confused and unaware of what was going on in Lance’s head. “Keith, I’m falling for you, and I have been for a while now, I’ve just been denying it, but today, I couldn’t run from these feelings anymore. You’re the greatest man I’ve ever known, you push me to be better.” Lance’s hands were shaking, but he had to get this out, he _needed_ to get this out. “When that assassin had me, one of my first thoughts was of you…and how I’d never get to see you again.”

Keith stared him down, carefully weighing Lance’s every word. Honestly, Lance was relieved this information was out in the open, now they could have a conversation they’ve been needing to have for a while, so he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed when Keith’s reaction was a mere, “okay.”

“Okay? That’s all you have to say?”

Keith shrugged. “Yes?”

“Well, how do you feel about me? Do you like me? Do you want to just be friends? I’d rather you reject me than just leave me like this.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Literally, _anything_!”

Keith’s nostrils flared, and for a moment, Lance thought he’d release whatever he was clearly keeping inside his head, but then he kicked off the wall and headed for the door. “I can’t do this right now, I need some space.”

That was the worst thing he could say to Lance. “Please don’t shut me out.” Lance reached for Keith and stumbled off the bed. He was on his hands and knees know, basically begging on the ground, but he didn’t care, Keith was one of the only people he wasn’t ashamed to be vulnerable in front of. “You can’t keep doing this.”

“What is _this_?” Keith hissed, stopping at the door, his back to Lance.

“Not telling me how you feel and then getting mad at me for not knowing what you need.”

“Lance I’m not sure what I need.” Keith clenched his fists. “But I don’t need you.”

Just then, something inside Lance snapped. “Are you kidding? How can you be so selfish? You’re practically dependent on me. If anything I’m the one who doesn’t you!”

Lance could see the muscles stiffen in Keith’s back. “Tell me, Lance,” he growled. “What was worse, almost being murdered by that assassin or pretending you were in love with me for the Marguuls?”

Lance’s lip quivered. “How dare you.”

“You do this all the time. You convince yourself you have feelings for someone you barely know. What about when you first met Allura? Or Nyma? Or Plaxum? The Marguul’s charade just has you confused, Lance, and I don’t have time for this, I don’t have time for _you_.”

Keith froze, the sound of his own words shocking him. At last, he turned to face Lance, his expression tightening when he realized Lance was on the ground. Keith stared down at him, his breathes heavy, his eyes glassy. “I - I’ve gotta go.” And with that, Keith ran out the door, leaving Lance alone and confused.

He slumped against the bed and pulled his legs against his chest. He allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of Keith and Keith shut him out. Lance didn’t care about the romance, what he cared about was that his _best friend_ just did that to him.

A tear streamed down his cheek as he whispered, “Keith.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5: Will these two idiots work it out? Tune in next time to find out...


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything in the world stinks right now, so may I offer you some Klance in these trying times 🙃

Lance didn’t remember falling asleep, but he awoke to the sound of Allura softly knocking at the door. He peeled his face from the pillow, his sheets were strewn across the floor and his hair was a mess, he stared at the ceiling and groaned, how could he show his face after last night?

Allura’s voice was gentle as she spoke through the door. “Lance? I know you’re tired but do you think you’d be able join the festivities soon?”

He didn’t want to, but he pulled himself out of bed nevertheless. This alliance was far more important than his personal problems right now, so he put on his Paladin armor and headed out to the festival.

When he arrived at the palace grounds, it was far beyond anything that he could have ever imagined. The Marguuls had set up an entire carnival in his honor, complete with games, rides, food and even shows. He found the King in the middle of watching some actors perform a dramatic reenactment of Lance and Keith’s daring rescue.

The actor playing Lance was being held by an actor in a hilarious black wig, which could only mean he was playing Keith. Actor Keith cradled Actor Lance gently in his arms, then an actor with what only can be described as cotton balls taped to his forehead and a giant line drawn across his nose in stage makeup entered from the wings, this must’ve been Shiro. Actor Shiro placed a hand on Actor Keith’s shoulder. “Let me take him,” he recited (the acting could use some work, guess that’s why he wasn’t cast as one of the two leads.) Actor Keith brushed him off and looked tenderly down at the limp alien in his arms. “I got it.”

The curtain fell and the crowd erupted into cheers. All the Actor Paladins ran onto the stage and took their bows. They got a standing ovation from their Marguulian audience, flowers were thrown at them, and the King even wiped away some tears. Lance wasn’t sure if he should be honored or worried about the Marguuls’ sanity.

He stepped up behind the King and cleared his throat. “Uh, Your Majesty?”

The King whirled around and let out a delighted squeal. “You’re finally here!” He clapped and a servant pranced out of the crowd with a stool while another appeared with a microphone. The King stepped up onto the stool while the servant held the mic up to his lips. “My people,” he called, and the Marguuls fell silent. “Lance has finally arrived!” They broke out into applause, but immediately stopped when the King held his hand out. “But where is Keith?”

Lance had no idea where Keith was, he wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t see his team leader all day. He looked over the King’s shoulder at Allura, sending her a look that said _‘Lura, where_ is _the Hot Head?_

The corner of her lips raised as she rolled her eyes stuck her tongue out, a look that he knew said _Keith’s coming, he’s just being slow and moody about it._ They shared a silent laugh before Lance returned his attention to the King, realizing the whole crowd was waiting for his response.

Lance shot the King a sheepish smile. “Oh he, um.” The servant abruptly shoved the mic into Lance’s face, smacking him with it in the process. His eyes scrolled over the crowd of expectant Marguuls, all at the edge of their seats just waiting for his answer. He cleared his throat and spoke into the mic, “well, you know Keith, he loves his beauty sleep… and, Lord knows he needs more than me, since my beauty is natural, heh.”

After a few horrifying moments of silence the crowd burst into laughter. Lance let out a sigh of relief. He glanced over at Allura again, who give him a little thumbs up.

“Now,” the King began, “let, ah-!” A small cry escaped him as the servant accidentally hit him in in the face with mic as well. The King scowled and wrangled the darn thing from the servant’s hands. “As I was saying,” he growled, side eyeing the servant; but then he quickly returned his attention back to the crowd, a giant smile plastering his face. “Let the festivities begin!”

Music began playing as everyone started mingling about. Lance couldn’t help but scan the crowd for a certain mullet, but he was pulled from his thoughts when the King grabbed him by the arm. “Come along, Lance, you’ll be judging the eating contest first!”

“Oh…kay then.”

The King pulled Lance towards a large table topped with plates and plates Marguulian delicacies. He sat Lance down in what could only be described as a literal throne. It was a giant chair cushioned with ornate purple fabric and lined with gold. An identical one remained empty on his left, undoubtedly meant for Keith, when and _if_ he ever showed up.

A wide smile spread across His Royal Majesty’s face. “Behold, Lance, the eating contest.” An array of contestants filtered in, sitting at the table one by one, bowing as they passed Lance. “I heard you love our dessert, so who better to judge the contest than you?”

Lance blew some air out of his nose. “You are…truly a visionary, Your Majesty.”

“I know,” the King practically sang as he skipped away.

The moment Lance was alone he dug his palms into his eyes. What was happening? The Marguuls were treating him like a god, Keith was avoiding him, and he was sitting on a throne? He needed a drink.

“Juice box?” Came a voice from beside him.

Lance looked over to find Pidge standing next to his chair, offering some juice to him, already sucking on some of her own.

He sighed. “That depends, does it have nunvill in it?”

“Lance, please, what do you take me for?” She shot him a stern look. “…of course it does.”

“Gimme.”

She tossed him the juice box and he made quick work of jamming the straw into the top and guzzling it down. She wasn’t joking, there really was nunvill in it, but only just a hint.

He watched as a servant brought out tiny cakes shaped like…oh god, like Keith and Lance. She placed one before each contestant, adding it to their already overloaded plates. A little bell rang and the eating contest commenced. The participating Marguuls began shoving the desserts into their mouths. Pidge winced as a lady at the end bit the head off of her Keith cake, though, in this moment, Lance didn’t mind seeing that so much.

Hunk whistled as he came up on the other side of Lance’s throne. “What a sight to behold, do you think it’s too late to enter myself?”

Lance grimaced as he watched one of them shove a giant cannoli-like dessert down his throat without taking a single bite. “Yeah, it’s beautiful, the Niagara Falls of eating contests.”

Hunk leaned against the armrest of Lance’s chair and picked at the tuft of Marguulian cotton candy in his hands. “Well if this doesn’t impress you, Pidge and I just came from the sculpture contest and let me tell you, the works of art these aliens are chiseling of you and Keith belong in a museum.”

Lance groaned. Normally he would love this, he would be eating this attention up, but not today, not after what happened last night, and for God’s sake where the quiznak was Keith?

“Speaking of you and Keith,” Pidge began, making her way around to the front of his chair. “What’s going on between you two?”

Lance was only half listening to her, he was busy searching the crowd for his fake-boyfriend-who-he-wished-wasn’t-so-fake. “What? Uh, who?”

Hunk threw a wad of cotton candy into his mouth. “You know, Keith? Leader of Voltron? Kind of moody? Will fight you? Sound familiar?”

“Lance.” Pidge snapped her fingers in front of his face, finally bringing his attention back. “What happened last night? Did you guys fight?”

“We didn’t fight per se.” Lance twiddled his thumbs. He was about to drop a bombshell on his friends. “I just, kind of…told him I’m in love with him.”

He paused, waiting for the shocked gasps, but they never came. Pidge and Hunk only stared down at him, eyes wide. Suddenly, they both burst into laughter.

“Oh, finally,” Hunk sighed.

“Ugh,” Pidge hissed as she fished some GAC out of her pocket and handed it to Hunk. “You were right, Big Guy.” Lance figured he would ask about _that_ later. “Congrats though, really. I’m happy for you two.”

Lance blinked. “Wait, you knew? How did you know? _I_ didn’t even know until yesterday!”

Pidge and Hunk shared a knowing glance. The Green Paladin shook her head and smiled down at him. “You knew… you just didn’t know you knew.”

Lance took another swig from his juice box. The only thing he _knew_ right now was that he wanted to be horizontal in his bed.

Hunk placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder, adopting a more gentle tone now. “He’ll talk to you eventually, don’t you worry. If anyone can squeeze an emotion out of Keith, it’s you.”

And with those parting words, Hunk and Pidge left him there to ponder, just a man and his juice box…and the Marguuls eating their body weight in dessert before his eyes. One guy picked up his plate and let the remaining food slide into his mouth. To be honest, Lance wasn’t so sure he didn’t swallow the plate too. Once the alien was done, he held his hands above his head triumphantly, showing that he had finished his food first. The crowd applauded, Lance decided he would give the guy a polite golf clap for his accomplishment.

A light hand grasped his shoulder and Lance couldn’t stop himself from swiveling around with excitement. “Keith?” But his face fell when he saw who it really was, “…Oh, hi Zella.”

Zella’s warm smile didn’t fade, though he could see she was disheartened by his loss of enthusiasm. “Sorry to sneak up on you, just thought I’d see how you’re doing.” She chewed her lip. “So…how’re you doing?”

“Oh, fine, fine. They say a man is defined by how many desserts he can shove down his gullet.”

Zella let out a soft chuckle. “I know, the eating contest isn’t the most…elegant. However-” She swept one of her dainty hands through his brown hair. “The next competition is shooting, so you should like that, Sharpshooter.”

He turned his head to find that she was right, the tables and food from the eating contest were already being replaced with targets by some very efficient workers. The old contestants were shuffled out as new ones were ushered in, each contestant stopped to pay his respects to Lance, just like before.

Lance let out a breathy laugh.“I would love that.” His day had only just begun and he was already under too much pressure. A shooting competition was just what he needed, something familiar, something he understood. “I would really love that, actually.”

He smiled up at Zella, and her eyes brightened as she stared back at him. She combed her fingers through his hair again, but this time he grabbed her hand, and gently removed it from his head. Zella was a great girl, she just wasn’t Keith.

She pulled her hand away. “Sorry, did I make you uncomfortable?”

“Oh it’s not that, it’s just that I-” his blood went cold when a familiar face appeared in the crowd behind the Princess.

Keith, finally.

Lance couldn’t explain the pulsing he felt through his entire body, it had only been a few hours since he last saw Keith, so why did it feel like a lifetime ago? He popped out of his chair. “Will, you excuse me for a moment, Zella?”

Before his brain could catch up with his body, his feet were carrying him towards the Red Paladin, whose eyes were latched on Lance in return. But just as he got close, Lance remembered last night. It took every fiber of his being to stop himself from running into Keith’s arms. Keith’s eyes were blank, unreadable, if he wanted Lance to come any closer, he certainly wasn’t showing it. Lance turned away. Keith held his ground for a moment, then disappeared into the crowd.

Lance waited five ticks before letting out a low growl and running into the swarm of Marguuls after his leader. “What are you doing?” He cried as he grabbed Keith’s wrist and spun him around. “You can’t ignore me when _I’m_ ignoring you!”

Keith looked around, clearly not comfortable having this conversation in such a public space, although, according to last night, he wasn’t comfortable having it at all. Despite all that though, his leader couldn’t stop a tiny smirk from forming, he was probably just happy Lance was even talking to him. Lance understood that feeling, somehow he always felt like everything was going to be okay when he was with Keith.

The Blue Paladin crossed his arms. They were going to settle this once and for all… and _then_ he could jump into Keith’s arms, but serious stuff first. “Seriously man, you were a grade-A jerk last night.”

Keith scratched the back of his head. “You - you just caught me by surprise.”

“Ohhh, you were surprised? _That’s_ why you insulted me and belittled me and left me on the floor. That’s on me then, all is forgiven.”

Keith winced, and Lance felt a little bad, but he wasn’t buying Keith’s excuses.

“I…can I just explain myself?”

Lance pressed a finger into Keith’s chest plate. “I don’t want you to try and explain yourself, I just want you to apologize. Is that so hard?”

“Yes?”

“Seriously?” Lance huffed. “Says the man who tried to take Zarkon head-on mere _months_ after becoming a Paladin?”

“This is different,” Keith bit back.

“How?”

“Because I care about what you think of me.”

Lance raked his hands down his face and let out a loud groan. “Well, if you cared so much you would fight to keep me.” A silence settled between the two. Lance was vaguely aware of the carnival and the Marguuls mingling around them, but he could only see his team leader in this moment. He took a breath, then went on, “I’ve let you walk out of my life too many times, and I won’t lose you to this without a fight, but I’m also tired of forcing people to stay.”

Keith opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He swallowed, burying whatever emotion he was feeling deep down, just as he always did. “Lance I’m…I’m sorry. I should’ve known our friendship was stronger, I thought what you said would destroy it, but I was wrong about that…I was wrong about you, for the second time.”

“When was the first?”

“When we first met.” Hesitant fingers brushed against Lance’s, Keith was going for a hand-hold but tried to back out last minute. Lance responded by grabbing his leader’s hand fully, he was going to make that coward commit to their friendship. Keith continued, “I called you nothing more than a cargo pilot, but you’re way more than that, to Voltron, to the universe, to me.”

Keith’s words hung in the air between them, his stormy eyes piercing into Lance, begging him to say anything in response. The carnival music playing in the background didn’t help either. Lance gave his hand a little squeeze. “Keith, I don’t care if you don’t feel the same way back, I just need you in my life.”

A small smile tugged at the end of Keith’s lips, but then his face scrunched with disgust and he ripped his hand away from Lance’s. “Ugh, why are you so much better at this than I am?”

“Better at what?”

“Feelings!”

A small laugh bubbled out of Lance. “Keith, it’s okay, just talk to me instead of doing whatever that was last night.” He placed a hand on his leader’s shoulder. “You don’t have to push people away and handle everything on your own. We’re a team, remember?”

Keith nodded. “I…I said some pretty terrible things to you last night. I’m sorry, I truly am.” He placed a hand over the one Lance still had resting on his arm, for a moment he thought Keith might remove it, but instead he just gripped Lance’s hand even tighter. “I’ve never been able to control the other people in my life, I think that’s why I’m so afraid of them leaving me. That’s why I like fighting so much, I can manipulate a situation to go my way, I don’t feel so helpless.” He ran his hands through his hair and let out another groan. Lance almost found it funny how difficult it was for Keith to talk about his emotions. He was acting like Lance just asked for his first born child. Keith rubbed his temples. “It sounds stupid, I know.”

Lance smacked him on the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“For being an idiot.” Lance smiled. “Hate to break it to you, buddy, but you’re not special, lot’s of people have fears like that, and they’re perfectly valid. So don’t go acting like you’re some outlier that deserves to be studied for science or something.”

Keith rubbed his shoulder and pouted, but Lance could see he was fighting back a smile. Before Lance could say anything else, Keith was pulling him into an embrace. The Blue Paladin was shocked at first, but then he wrapped his arms around his team leader as tight as he could. He hid his face in Keith’s neck, and he wasn’t even a little bothered by the mullet hairs that tickled his nose.

“Friends?” Keith muffled into Lance’s neck.

The Blue Paladin merely nodded in response, but it seemed to be enough for Keith, who in return squeezed him even tighter (if that was even possible.)

Lance could’ve stayed like that forever, but their moment was cut off by the King pushing through the crowd. “Lance, there you are! The shooting competition is about to-” He paused as the Paladins begrudgingly pulled apart. His eyes lit up. “Keith, you’re here!”

The King clapped and the servant with the stool appeared out of nowhere, the one with the mic appeared from the other side and shoved it in the King’s face. Lance was honestly quite impressed with how seriously those two took their jobs.

“Hey everybody, Keith’s here!” He exclaimed into the mic. The Marguuls all stopped their various activities and began to cheer, confetti started falling from out of nowhere, even champaign bottles were popped.

Keith’s face lost some of its color, but Lance only laughed at him. “I’m glad you’re finally here,” he yelled over the deafening cheers. “You’re gonna hate this and I’m gonna love watching.”

 

————-

 

Despite the fact that Keith and Lance were each sitting on a giant throne, things started to feel like they were going back to normal. The King was blabbing on and on about how today would now be national Keith and Lance Day, but the Blue Paladin wasn’t really paying attention, he had his eyes on the contestants preparing for the shooting competition, each one carefully cleaning his weapon off in preparation, Lance wanted to join in so badly.

Apparently Keith wasn’t paying attention either as he leaned over and whispered, “do you think this will be real shooting or like a carnival where fake ducks or something pop up and they have to shoot those?”

Lance kept his eyes forward, careful not to draw the attention of the King, they were so close to getting the coalition deal now, he didn’t want to ruin it by being disrespectful. Slowly, he leaned towards Keith and whispered back, “It’s supposed to be Keith and Lance themed, right? So what if they’re supposed to shoot pictures of you and I with someone else, but if they shoot one of us together then they’re out?”

“What, so a picture of you and Hunk holding each other lovingly pops up and the contestant is supposed to gun that down?” Keith chuckled.

“Yeah, you jealous?”

“Well…maybe if one of you and Zella popped up.”

“Keith,” Lance laughed, picking up one of his legs and flopping it over the armrest of his throne. “I cannot believe my fake boyfriend is jealous of my imaginary girlfriend!”

“I’m just kidding.” Keith smiled as he shoved Lance’s leg off of the chair’s arm and back onto the floor. “And your feet stink, by the way.”

The King clapped, jolting both of their attention forwards once again. The contest began and the first shooter stepped up, taking careful aim at the target. He waited for two breaths before firing his weapon. Lance let out a hiss as the shot hit the outer rim of the target, missing the bullseye by quite a bit. He still had two more shots but still, that would cost him a lot of points. He stepped down, letting the next contestant take her first turn.

“You should’ve been here this morning, Keith,” Lance mused, leaning back in his chair. “The King had me watch a guy practically unhinge his jaw and eat us.”

“I’m not even going to ask what that means.”

“It means exactly what I said.”

“Shouldn’t you be paying attention?”

“Shouldn’t _you_?”

Keith scoffed, returning his attention to the contest. Shooter after shooter stepped up and made their shot, the best in the line up so far was good, with her shot just to the left of the bullseye, perhaps she could actually hit it with her second turn. “You should be out there,” Keith noted, not taking his eyes from the contestants.

Lance leaned back in his chair. “Yeah well, I think this day is already about me enough.”

The first contestant stepped forward to take his second shot, he was closer this time but still not enough to get anywhere near the top three. The rest of the competitors went down the line taking their turns, not a one of them hitting the center of the target.

As the third and final round began Lance felt something brush against his fingers. Before he could investigate, though, Keith was sliding their hands together, lacing his fingers between Lance’s.

The Blue Paladin was sure his face was red in that moment. “Um?”

“Shut up, we’re supposed to look like a couple right?”

Lance stared down at their intertwined hands, how was he supposed to stare at anything else right now? He certainly couldn’t focus on the competition anymore.

Keith gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you-” Lance forced himself to look away from their hands so he could meet Keith’s eyes. “What did the assassin whisper to you when he was holding you?”

Lance’s spine went cold at the memory of that moment. He was completely paralyzed, completely at the mercy of the assassin. Keith had just arrived, his only chance of escaping. He’d probably never forget the chilling words that alien whispered in his ear. Lance swallowed. “He said - he said he would like to keep me as a pet.”

The color drained from Keith’s face.

“But it’s okay, because you were there.”

Lance smiled, but something hardened behind Keith’s eyes. He stared blankly at the Blue Paladin, his mouth set in a line.

“Yeah I was there, and then I threw it back in your face last night like a quiznaking idiot.”

Lance’s heart sank at the memory of Keith’s words: _Tell me, Lance, what was worse, almost being murdered by that assassin or pretending you were in love with me for the Marguuls?_

Lance shook his head, he didn’t want to fight anymore, he just wanted to enjoy the rest of the brief time he had where Keith was pretending to be his boyfriend, where he would do things like hold Lance’s hand. “Keith, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not okay.” Keith’s voice was stern now, certain, he sounded like a leader. “Lance, tell me the truth.”

Lance bit the inside of his cheek. He had already aired so much out at Keith, why hide anything at this point? “I…when he whispered that wanted to keep me, that was one of the scariest moments of my life.”

Lance turned his face away, but Keith slid his hand up Lance’s cheek and guided his head back until their eyes met. The Red Paladin caressed Lance’s face with a certain tenderness he never would’ve guessed Keith had. For a brief moment, Lance let himself believe that this softness was something Keith reserved only for him, but he quickly pushed that thought away.

“Lance,” Keith breathed, almost inaudible. “I’m so, so sorry. In that moment, when he had you, I felt so helpless, maybe even more so than when I’m sharing my emotions.”

“Wow, that’s a _lot_ then,” Lance teased.

Keith rolled his eyes, though the fondness never left his face. “As I was saying-” He brushed his thumb across Lance’s cheek. “Getting so close to you, and then almost losing you, it terrified me, so when you told me about your feelings, I couldn’t help but fear that I was going to lose you again, when I had _just_ gotten you back from that assassin.”

His team leader carefully lifted their still intertwined hands and brought Lance’s knuckle to his lips, lightly placing a kiss on it. Keith’s hand was still resting on Lance’s cheek, so he was sure his team leader could feel his face heating up a few degrees.

The two Paladin’s were so lost in each other they hadn’t even noticed that the contest they were supposed to be judging had ended. Someone cleared their throat and snapped them out of it, both of them turning and placing their hands in their laps to show that they will be good from now on, keep their hands to themselves. The Marguuls, however, didn’t see to mind, they were staring lovingly at the Paladins.

“Sorry to interrupt,” The King said, smiling into his microphone. “But the contest has ended, and we have our champion.” Lance noticed that the little mic servant was wiping tears from his eyes with a handkerchief, afterwards he handed it up the King who then did the same. Man, these people were really passionate about he and Keith’s relationship.

Lance’s brain went into autopilot as he abruptly stood and began clapping for whoever the heck the winner was. The crowd followed his lead as they broke into cheers, but they were cut off by Keith.

“Your Majesty?” Asked his leader. “Don’t you think the crowd would love to see the Sharpshooter of Voltron show his skills?” He shot Lance a teasing glance. “I think it’s only fair.”

The King let out a giddy squeal, a sound only one pitch down from being heard solely by dogs.

Lance shook his head. “What are you doing?”

“Whatever I can to cheer you up,” Keith said, grabbing Lance’s arm and pulling him down towards the targets.

The King signaled for someone to fetch Lance a gun. When he cocked it the crowd went crazy, but the King raised his hand and they immediately fell silent, Lance made a mental note to ask the King to teach him that trick.

Lance breathed in, steadying his heart. Now _this_ would always be familiar to him. The weight of the gun felt good in his hands, the winds were low, his hands were steady, his sight was clear, there was nothing left to do but pull the trigger.

Three gunshots, right in row, followed by dead silence. Not only had Lance hit the bullseye all three times, but he hit it in the same exact place, with such precision, that he blew a hole right through the center of the target.

Just for a touch of drama, Lance blew out the smoke at the end of his gun, and that’s when the crowd went wild. He threw his head back and laughed, for the first time all day he felt good, better than good even, he was absolutely giddy.

Keith bumped their shoulders together. “Feeling better?”

“Oh yeah.” Lance couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off his face, though for some reason, Keith had a goofy smile too, not that Lance minded. It was nice when they could just act like teenagers for once, and not have to be the saviors of the universe.

“I thought that might help.”

“Well you know what they say on Earth, it’s Nerf-” Lance cocked his gun. “Or nothing.”

Keith’s smile widened. “Don’t get too cocky, now.”

Lance gasped. “Keith Kogane, was that a _pun_?”

Keith pulled his Bayard from his suit, not taking his eyes from Lance the entire time. “I’m just saying, you’re not the only one who can aim.” Keith’s Bayard transformed into a knife, and with that, he whipped it at the target in front of him, hitting it dead center.

If Keith wanted Lance to ever get over him, he was gonna have to do things like that…much less.

“Is that a challenge, babe?” Lance crossed his arms.

Keith smirked. “Try me, darlin’.”

They stared one another down, and Lance wasn’t sure if he was grateful or upset that their somewhat sexually charged eye contact was broken up by screaming in the distance.

They pulled apart to find a stampede of Marguulians running away from something, but it didn’t take very long to figure out what. An alien, similar to the one they killed just a few days ago, came charging through the fairgrounds. This one also had four arms, although it looked even stronger than the last one.

The alien stopped and smiled with the same terrifying razor sharp teeth that the last assassin had. “Ah, the Paladin’s of Voltron, maybe you can help me. I’m looking for my boyfriend, you seen him?”

“Did you check the morgue?” Keith growled.

“Keith!” Lance smacked him on the shoulder.

The alien clenched all four of her hands into a fist. “So my suspicions were right, you killed him. Guess I’ll just have to repay the favor!” She cried as she charged at them.

Keith quickly glanced at his Bayard still stuck in the target, then pulled out his Galra blade, it transformed into sword form as he ran head on at the alien. “Cover me,” he called over his shoulder to Lance.

Lance quickly scrambled up to the roof of a concession stand, trying to get to higher ground, as he reached the top he saw Allura and Shiro rounding the corner. Keith and the alien were already going at it. He swung his blade at her but she dodged it, she threw a punch at him but he side-stepped it. That’s when she noticed Zella standing off to the side. The assassin kicked some dirt in Keith’s face, momentarily blinding him, then charged at the Marguulian Princess. Keith was quick to recover, though, running towards Zella and and knocking her out of the way just before the alien could slam into her.

Allura pulled out her Bayard, which had taken the form of a whip, and she lassoed it around the alien’s leg, pulling her over. The assassin fell to the ground with an ear piercing shriek. Shiro ran at her, ready to strike but she quickly flipped over and grabbed him by the leg, throwing him into the King.

The alien pulled herself up and hauled the nearest food cart onto her shoulder, then she spun around and whipped it at a crowd of Marguulians. Thankfully, they all made it out of the way just in time.

While the assassin was distracted, Keith got back to his feet and ran at her. He leapt onto her back and dug his sword into her shoulder blade. “Shiro,” Keith cried through gritted teeth. “Get the other Paladin’s and protect the Marguuls.”

Shiro picked the King off the ground and dusted him off, while Allura did the same with Zella. Shiro looked to Keith, then to Lance, and ever so slowly, he nodded. “If anyone can do this, it’s Voltron’s power couple.”

“Ha. Ha.” Keith spat, still on top of the alien.

Shiro placed two fingers on his forehead and gave the Red Paladin a little salute. Then he and Allura began ushering the crowd to safety, leaving Lance and Keith alone with the angry girlfriend.

She ran backwards and slammed her back into the wall of the stand Lance was on top of, forcing Keith to jump off before he was crushed. He landed in front of the alien and turned to face her. She snarled at him, then reached into her belt and unsheathed two swords, one in each of her top hands.

She ran at Keith, and their swords collided.

Lance scoffed. “If I was her I would’ve had four swords, one for each hand.”

“Don’t give her suggestions!” Keith grunted as he fended her off.

Lance’s Bayard transformed into a rifle, and for the second time today, he took his aim. Keith and the alien were moving too much to get a clean shot, but he could at least wound her without getting too close to Keith. He pulled the trigger, and suddenly her green blood was spewing from her side.

Her head whipped towards him, nothing but fury in her eyes. Before she could do anything rash, he took another shot, hitting her square in the heart. She paused, her eyes widened, looking down at her bloody chest, then she burst out laughing. “Sorry Baby Blue, but my species’ anatomy isn’t the same as yours. That spot’ll do you no good.”

Then she charged him.

“I should’ve known she was a heartless woman,” he whispered under his breath just as she collided with the concession stand, smashing it to pieces. Lance tried to jump off of it, but she was too fast, and he went flying to the ground, knocking the air from his lungs.

He laid there, desperately trying to catch his breath, fully aware that the scary alien lady was running right towards him. Before she reached him, though, Keith jumped between them, his sword pointed right at her. “If you want him, you’re gonna have to go through me.”

The alien laughed. “Aw, the Red One doesn’t like to share his toys?”

They charged one another, metal collided with metal. Lance reoriented himself, suddenly aware that he had lost his Bayard in his fall. He frantically looked around, but didn’t see it anywhere.

“Lance,” Keith huffed as the assassin pinned him against a pillar. “My Bayard.” His leader swerved out of the way as her swords pierced the spot where he just stood.

Lance didn’t even think, he just sprinted towards the targets and ripped the Black Bayard from the bullseye. This was perfect, now he could get it to Keith and…

He paused as the Black Bayard transformed into an Altean Broadsword. Lance blinked. This was certainly an… _interesting_ development, but there was no time to dwell on it, he knew what he had to do. He ran towards Keith, who was holding off one of the alien’s swords with his own, but his leader was helpless to stop her as she brought the other sword down on him. Lance threw himself between them, parrying the blow, stopping it just before she could turn Keith into a shish kabob.

The alien didn’t miss a beat as she began swinging her swords at Lance now too, Keith on the other hand, needed a second. He stood to the side, staring at Lance as he fended the assassin off.

“Keith.” Lance ducked under one of her swords. “I know I’m a sight to behold-” He jumped over a blow intended to cut off his knees. “But we’re kind of in the middle of a battle here.”

The Red Paladin snapped back into action and was at his side in an instant. Lance brought his sword down on the alien from the left, she blocked, but left an opening for Keith on the right. He swung, but she grabbed his blade with her lower arm, Keith didn’t give up, though, as he slowly pushed into her hand until she couldn’t take it anymore. She released his weapon with a cry.

Keith and Lance worked together like a machine. One would swing, then the other, then the first again. Lance could see she was losing steam, and they were backing her up to the edge of the fairgrounds, to where there was a drop off.

The alien reached the edge of the cliff and her heel teetered, she looked over her shoulder and gasped, it was a long way down. Despite her grim odds, she kept fending the Paladin’s off. Each of their attacks was met with a parry and a colorful curse word.

“It’s over for you,” Keith said between swings. His face gleaming with sweat, his hair sticking to his forehead. “Surrender and we can all live to see tomorrow.”

The assassin spat at his feet. “Never.”

She was starting to learn Keith and Lance’s rhythm, but with a single look, Keith told his Right Hand Man it was time for a change up. Lance feigned right, and the alien fell for it, going for a block, but it was Keith who struck, piercing her in the side. She roared out in pain as she brought both her swords down upon Keith, but Lance was there to block the blow. Together, they pushed her back, knocking her over the edge.

She dropped her swords in order to grab the cliff’s edge, but the rocks were crumbling, there was no hope for pulling herself back up, at least not on her own. She foamed at the mouth as she screamed, “you killed my boyfriend and now you’re going to kill me.”

Keith stood above her, strong and unwavering, a slight breeze tousled his sweaty hair. It was honestly a sight to see, Lance wished he had a camera. “Last chance, surrender. It doesn’t have to end like this.”

Her chest heaved as she stared up at Keith with unyielding hatred. Something told Lance she wasn’t considering the surrender option.

Another piece of rock gave way, leaving her to dangle by only one hand now. “Just tell me one thing, Head of Voltron.” Her eyes narrowed. “Was it you who killed him?”

Keith extended a hand down to her. “If you don't surrender, then you can ask him yourself.”

Her breaths grew shallow as she stared up at Keith, the last few bits of rock under her hand crumbling under the weight of her body, it wouldn’t hold much longer. Her voice was barely audible as she whispered, “if you killed my boyfriend-” She swallowed. “THEN I’LL KILL YOURS” she screamed as she threw her hand up and grabbed Lance by the ankle. Her sudden movement caused the rest of the rocks to give out, and she started to fall. Lance hit the ground hard and was dragged across the cliff to the edge. Just as he was about to go over and plummet to his death with the alien, Keith brought his sword down, severing her hand from her arm.

Lance could hear her roar falling further and further down the cliffside until there was nothing. He laid there for a moment, covered in sweat, taking heavy breaths, staring up at the sky. He honestly couldn’t believe he didn’t die just now.

Lance refused to look down at the disembodied hand that was still wrapped around his ankle, luckily, Keith quickly kicked it away and then climbed on top of him, worry written all over his face.

“Lance,” Keith said breathlessly. “The Black Bayard, it worked for you again. It - it worked.”

“Yeah,” Lance laughed. “I was there, I saw.”

“That means one day, you’ll be the leader of Voltron,” he said between desperate pants for air. “And I’ll be right at your side.”

Lance reached a shaky hand up and ran it through Keith’s sweaty mullet. “Stop you’re gonna make me cry.” He winked, suddenly adopting a more jokey tone. “And I don’t want to ruin my mascara.”

Keith rolled his eyes, releasing a laugh through his nose. “Mascara, huh? Of course you’re wearing makeup, I knew that beauty couldn’t be natural.”

“Speak for yourself.”

Keith cupped Lance’s cheek, his eyes falling on the fresh scrapes that now covered it due to the Blue Paladin’s little joy ride across the ground. Keith slid his fingers down Lance’s neck to his chest, then gently slid them back up again, it was almost as if he couldn’t keep his hands off of Lance, not that Lance was complaining.

They stayed like that for a long time, Keith laying on top of him, running his fingers all over Lance’s body. Silently enjoying one another’s company, enjoying the fact that they were both still alive, enjoying the sight of the sun setting over the cliff behind them.

At last Lance finally spoke. “Hey, what do you think the record is for shortest time period between healing pod visits?”

“Oh my god, Lance.”

“Because I think I’m going to break that record.”

“Lance!” Keith laughed, as he buried his head in the Blue Paladin’s chest.

Suddenly a voice in the distance caught their attention. “They're over here guys!” Lance turned his head to see Hunk barreling towards them, the rest of the team in tow. Hunk fell to his knees beside them. “Oh my gosh you guys we were so worried about you.”

Keith took this opportunity to get off of him, and although Lance’s aching body was relieved to be free of the pressure, it also missed the warmth of being so close to his team leader.

“Well,” Shiro said, placing a hand on Hunk’s shoulder. “It looks like you two saved the Marguuls again.”

“And the coalition deal,” Allura added.

Pidge pushed her way through everyone else to the front. “Turns out, your assassin down there didn’t come alone, but we took care of the others for you.” She and Hunk shared a fist bump. “To be fair, though, they only had two arms and were much smaller than your dearly departed alien friend.”

“She was not our friend,” Lance said, still lying flat on his back.

Shiro and Allura were abruptly pushed to the side by a very angry looking Matt Holt. He pointed towards Keith and Lance. “You two.” He paused to let out a huff. “I didn’t think I had to say this but-” he clapped his hands together. “Stop. Almost. Dying.”

Keith and Lance both muttered a soft “sorry” under their breath.

Matt placed his hands on his hips. “How am I supposed to break it to Coran if anything happened to you?”

Lance’s eyes widened. “Oh god, I never thought about that.”

“Exactly.”

“Alright, Matt.” Shiro patted the Rebel Leader on the back. “Everybody’s safe now. All of the Paladins and all of the Marguuls too.”

Keith let out a sigh of relief. “Good.”

Then he smiled down at Lance, and extended his hand to him. Lance reached up and clasped it, Keith made to pull him up but suddenly Matt and Shiro were between them, pulling them apart.

“No, no, not this time,” Matt scolded.

“Matt’s right,” Shiro agreed, guiding a confused Keith away. “Last time you two almost died you _insisted_ on carrying him, but this time, you’re gonna get some rest too.”

Lance blinked. “Wait, what?”

Keith tried to protest but Matt and Shiro wouldn’t hear it. Allura laughed as she joined them in leading Keith away. Lance laid on the ground and blinked up at Hunk and Pidge. “Guys, what just happened?”

Pidge glanced up at Hunk, then down at the Blue Paladin. “We’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“Guys-” Lance protested, but he was cut off by Hunk wrapping his arms around him.

“Upsy-daisy,” Hunk grunted as he pulled Lance to his feet.

A small hand tapped him on the shoulder and Lance turned to find Zella standing beside him. Hunk and Pidge suddenly became very interested in some weed peeking out of the rocks, and went to explore it, leaving Lance and Zella alone.

Zella still looked pretty as ever, Lance could never deny that, but he also knew a day wasn’t enough time to get over his rejected feelings for Keith.

“Blue Paladin,” she said, smiling softly. “I must admit, I’ve had a crush on you for months.” She blushed, her skin sparkling in the glow of the sunset. “I’ve heard stories of Voltron and seen every episode of the Voltron Show, and now you’re here and-” She let out a giggle. “You’re even better than I imagined. But-”

Lance nodded, there was always a “but,” always something to drive people away from him.

“Keith seems really wonderful. I can only dream that one day I’ll find someone that looks at me the way he looks at you.”

“Zella, I understand if you - wait…the way he looks at what now?”

She turned to leave, but called over her shoulder, “I would tell him he’s a lucky man to have won your affection but I can tell he already knows.”

“Zella?” Lance tried to follow her, but he took one step and his legs nearly gave out, still weak from battle. Hunk was there to catch him though, no doubt he and Pidge were listening to that entire conversation. Hunk wrapped one of Lance’s arms over his shoulder and Pidge ddi the same with the other, then they all began to walk.

Lance made one last desperate attempt to clarify what anyone was talking about. “Can someone please tell me what’s going on here?”

Hunk merely let out a laugh. “Let’s get you into a pod, buddy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I call the scene where they are talking on their thrones the Gays of Thrones scene
> 
>  
> 
> Chapter 6: Finally the exciting conclusion for our love-lorn heroes...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry about how long it took for me to write this whole fic but just....so much happened in my life whilst writing this...but here ya go kids

Keith startled awake on the cold floor. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes as everything slowly came back to him. He had come out of his pod a few hours ago and Shiro and Matt forced him to rest in his room, but when they left go get him some food he snuck down to the med bay to check on Lance.

He sat up. As he rose, the blanket someone had draped over his shoulders slipped off. He slowly swiveled around to find two pairs of legs planted firmly before him. Keith already knew who they belonged to, and the lecture he was gonna get from both of them. He looked up, putting on his most innocent smile.

Shiro cleared his throat. Matt stood beside him with his arms crossed.

“Have a nice nap?” Shiro asked.

“You guys wanted me to rest,” Keith said as he pulled himself to his feet. “Why can’t I rest in front of Lance’s pod?”

“Don’t worry, guys,” Pidge intervened. She was at a table playing a game of chess with Hunk. The Marguuls had whittled it for them. The pieces were in the shape of the Paladins and their allies, and of course, the king and queen were Keith and Lance. Pidge didn’t even look away from the game as she spoke. “Keith came in here, stared at Lance for five dobashes and then promptly fell asleep.”

Hunk proudly raised his hand. “And I put a blanket on him!”

“Thank you, Hunk, you’re a gem,” Matt said sweetly. Then he whipped back around to Keith, the anger returning to his face. “And you. You need to go get ready for the ball tonight.”

“But-” Keith began.

“Don’t worry.” Shiro placed a hand on his shoulder. “Lance is gonna be just fine. Plus, Pidge and Hunk will be here for him when he wakes up.”

Keith turned to face Lance’s healing pod. Inside, the Blue Paladin was motionless. Keith was thankful for the healing pods and all they had done for the Paladins, but there was also a part of him that hated them. He couldn’t stand seeing his teammates inside the pod looking practically dead. Lance’s usually expressive face was slack, and Keith desperately wanted to reach out and touch him, but here was a wall of glass between them. He settled with merely placing one of his hands on the glass, right over where Lance’s heart was. “Yeah, but _I_ want to be here when he wakes up.”

“Nuh-uh,” Shiro cut in. “The ball starts in two vargas and we all know you need that entire time to get ready.”

Keith crossed his arms and pouted, he knew tonight was important, but so was being there for Lance.

Shiro let out a sigh, his face softening a little. “Coran said Lance will be out in 30 dobashes.” He placed a hand in Keith’s hair and tousled it. “And we all know that Lance actually takes care of his body, so he doesn’t need as much time to get primped and prepped as you do.”

Keith allowed a tiny laugh to escape him as he slapped Shiro’s hands out of his hair.

“Besides,” Matt leaned up against the healing pod next to him, “don’t you want to get all handsome to impress Lance?”

“Yeah right,” Pidge snorted as she strategically moved one of her chess pieces across the board. “Last I heard, Keith rejected Lance when he admitted he’s in love with our fearless leader.”

A silence fell over the room. The only noise was the clicking of the chess pieces against the board. Something terrifyingly cold washed over Shiro’s face as he spoke. “You… _what_?”

Keith knew he was in for it now. “I panicked!” He pointed an accusing finger at Shiro. “Besides, didn’t you do something similar to Adam when he first admitted he loved you?”

“I thought you would learn from my mistakes!”

Matt rubbed his temples. “And you have to be an absolute _fool_ to follow Shiro’s romantic lead.”

“Exactly!” Shiro cried.

“Whoa, whoa, wait,” Pidge jumped in, tearing her eyes away from her game for the first time. “Let me get this straight, you do have feelings for Lance, and you still turned him down?”

“Well duh!” Shiro was practically shouting now. “He’s been in love with Lance almost the entire time we’ve been in space!”

“Keith.” Hunk laced his fingers together and kept his gaze on the chess board, unable to look the Red Paladin in the eyes. “I am trying very hard not to kill you right now.”

“Oh my god,” Matt whispered. “You made the nice one mad, I am genuinely scared right now.”

The terrifying realization that Keith must have _really_ messed up for Hunk to be upset crashed over him. He turned to Shiro, unable to hide the panic in his voice. “Shiro?”

Shiro shook his head. “Sorry little bro, I couldn’t protect you from him even if I wanted to.”

“Here’s what you’re going to do,” Hunk said in an eerily calm voice. “You’re going to go with Matt and Shiro and get ready, you’re going to be the perfect date to Lance at the ball, and while you both look handsome as ever, you’re going to tell him the truth.” He took a sharp inhale and then returned to his game, cooly moving a piece across the board and taking out one of one of Pidge’s knights.

Matt grabbed Keith’s hand and dragged him towards the door. “Yeah, it’ll be like one of those romance movies.”

“No, I can’t.” Keith ripped his arm from Matt’s hold. “I need to be here when he wakes up.” He stared at Lance’s unconscious body in the pod. He thought back to the first time he ever saw the Blue Paladin like this, after Sendak attacked. Keith thought he would get more used to this sight after that, but he never did.

Shiro stepped up beside him. “Why is it so important that you’re here? You were here for almost his entire stay in the pod last time.”

“Yeah but Lance doesn’t know that, I wasn’t there when he woke up!”

Matt nodded. “Well there is this cool thing some people do where when one person doesn’t know something they TELL THEM?!”

“Communication, bro,” Hunk added as he casually took down another one of Pidge’s pieces.

Keith sighed. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he knew his friends were right. He had to find a way to fix this mess, and he needed to do it tonight. He nodded and Shiro patted him on the back, a silent signal that he understood this was hard for his little brother. He and Matt headed for the door again, and this time, Keith followed.

Pidge whirled around in her chair and pointed an accusatory finger at him. “Don’t mess it up this time.”

Hunk moved his queen. “Check.”

The Green Paladin gasped, turning back around. “That…that can’t be.” She examined the board, realizing that Hunk indeed had her piece cornered. She let out a sigh, knocking her king over in defeat. She looked back over her shoulder and glared daggers at her leader. “Thanks a lot Keith, you made me so frustrated that I lost!”  
“Don’t worry, Pidge.” Shiro aggressively patted the Red Paladin on the back, nearly knocking him over. “The only loser in this room is Keith.”

 

————-

 

Keith stepped back and admired himself in the mirror. The Marguuls had given each of the Paladin’s their own personal dressing rooms in the palace. After Shiro and Matt dragged him here they forced him to bathe and put on the outfit they picked out for him. He hated to admit it, but they actually did a good job getting him cleaned up, you couldn’t even tell he was sleeping on the floor just a few vargas ago.

“Pretty nice, huh?” Shiro smiled as he appeared in the mirror behind Keith. “I helped the Marguuls design it myself.”

It was a nice outfit, all black, he supposed Shiro was trying to make some statement about how he was the pilot of the Black Lion and the leader or something stupid like that. No jacket either, just a black vest over his black shirt, and a red tie for a pop of color. He liked how he looked, but he’d die before he admitted that to Shiro. “Eh, it’s alright.”

Shiro gave him a swift flick on the forehead. “Shut up, you like it.”

“I don’t know,” Keith teased as he began rolling up his sleeves. “No glitter? No feathers? It’s not very Marguulian.”

Shiro pulled on his own suit jacket, which was a shiny gray to match his tie. “Well that’s perfect because tonight’s theme is _Fashions of Earth._ ”

“So no gold capes?”

“No gold capes.”

Keith clicked his tongue. “Dang.”

“Tonight’s look is more Academy Awards than Met Gala,” Shiro said as he bumped Keith to the side so he could check himself out in the full length mirror.

“Hey!” Keith exclaimed, trying to push Shiro out of the way.

“Oh I’m sorry were you using this?” Shiro asked as he made every effort to block the Red Paladin from taking one last look at himself. Keith was just about to give up when Shiro wrapped an arm around his shoulder and smiled down at him. “Stop worrying, you look great.”

“Sorry to break up this moment of brotherly love,” Matt said, appearing in the doorway, looking rather dashing in his flower patterned suit, “but Keith, your hot slice of man is on his way to the ballroom.”

Keith took a deep breath as he turned to Shiro, letting the man adjust his tie for him one last time. “Alright, I’m gonna do it, I’m finally gonna to tell Lance how I feel.”

Matt slid his hands into his pockets. “Well then, you better hurry. I heard the King has a big entrance planned for each of you, so who knows when you’ll have the time once you get there.”

Keith could feel his heart speeding up. It was strange, he never felt like this before a battle, where he could literally die. Before a fight he always felt calm, sure of himself, but right now he was scared. Yet, knowing this was all for Lance, that made him want to take the leap. “Then I guess I’ll have to beat him there.”

Shiro clasped Keith on the shoulder. “You better run, Lance has already got a head start.”

“And legs for days,” Matt ever-so-helpfully added.

“Right.” Keith sucked in a big breath. “I’m doing it!” And with that ran out of the room.

“You got this, Keith!” Shiro cheered.

“And remember,” Matt called out after him, “don’t do anything Shiro would do!”

Keith heard Shiro let out a strangled little insulted noise before adding, “he’s not wrong though!”

When Keith reached the end of the hallway, he broke into an all out sprint. He couldn’t believe after all this time he was finally going to tell Lance how he felt. It sounded so simple when he put it like that, to just _tell_ him. Why didn’t he just communicate with Lance earlier? He hated cases of simple miscommunication, that’s why he couldn’t get through any of those fluffy love novels Lance liked, because that was always the main conflict…oh god, was he acting like a Jane Austen love interest? He _did_ brood a lot.

As he rounded the corner he bumped into a Marguulian, nearly knocking her off her feet, but he grabbed her before she could topple over and pulled her upright. Her eyes lit up when she realized who she just collided with. “It’s you!”

“Sorry,” Keith muttered as he attempted to get by her.

“No worries, Black Paladin,” the Marguulian beamed, stepping right in front of him so he couldn’t pass.

“Oh I’m technically the Red Paladin,” Keith added rather nonchalantly. He didn’t even look at the Marguulian, instead keeping his eyes on the end of the corridor in search of any sign of Lance.

“Wait, you’re the Red Paladin but you fly the Black Lion?”

“It’s confusing I know,” Keith breathed as he finally side-stepped the alien and made a break for it.

“I love you, Keith!” She called after him.

Keith skidded on the carpet as he rounded the corner, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Lance approaching the enormously ornate ballroom doors. “Lance,” he huffed as he grabbed his right hand man’s wrist and spun him around. “I have to-”

His words caught in his throat when he saw what Lance was wearing. Shiro was a dead man for helping design that stupid outfit. Lance looked like a prince. He was wearing a black shirt and a black tie, but his _suit_ …oh god, his suit was a a deep burgundy that popped against his tan skin.

Keith swallowed. “You look…dapper.”

_Dapper_? What was he, an old timey radio host? Who says dapper anymore?

Those aggressive thoughts quickly disappeared, though, when he saw the smile that appeared on Lance’s face. “You’re looking rather dashing yourself, Team Leader.”

Lance hooked his fingers onto Keith’s lapels, and Keith wondered how he’d ever gotten labeled as the moody, lone-wolf when just one touch from Lance could make him melt.

Keith reached up and wrapped his hands around Lance’s wrists, causing the Blue Paladin to grip his vest even tighter.

The Red Paladin shook his head. “I swear if you go into the pod one more time I’m going to lose my mind.”

“If I go into the pod one more time I think _I’m_ going to lose my _life_ ,” Lance retorted.

“That’s not funny!”

“You’re smiling.”

Keith gave Lance a playful shove, regretting it slightly when it caused Lance to release his hold on Keith’s lapels. He instinctively grabbed one of Lance’s hands, though once he realized what he had done he released it, only to immediately change his mind and grabbed it again. Lance didn’t comment on this strange behavior, instead he just let out a little snort, a noise that made Keith’s chest feel all warm.

Keith rubbed the nape of his neck.“Well anyway, McClain, the pod worked its magic. You look good.”

“Really?” Lance crinkled his nose. “I only had a little over a varga to get ready, and I just threw this on so-”

“Oh shut up, we both know you look incredible.” Keith rolled his eyes as he laughed.

Lance froze. He pressed his lips together as his eyebrow slowly arched up. “…Do we both know that?”

Keith took a deep breath. This was it. “Lance, I have to tell you something.” Well, he had to tell him _many_ things, actually, but he would start with this. “After the first assassin, I stayed outside your pod for days, but Shiro made me go back to my room before I passed out from exhaustion.”

Lance gave his hand a little squeeze, as if a form of encouragement, since he knew this touchy-feely stuff was so hard for Keith; and in that moment, the Leader of Voltron swore he would take on fleets of Galra just for his right hand man.

“I wanted to be there when you woke up,” he continued. “I - I want to be there when you wake up every morning.”

Lance’s cool blue eyes widened. He stared at his leader with a tenderness Keith knew he couldn’t find anywhere else across the countless galaxies he’s explored. “Keith…are you saying-”

“There you two are,” Allura scolded as she rounded the corner, looking lovely in her tea-length dress. The two boys immediately dropped their hands and pulled apart as the Princess approached. “The King is dying for his guests of honor to arrive. Plus, he has entrances planned for each of you so come along now, one at a time.”

Keith shook his head. Of _course_ they were interrupted, but they were Paladins and they had a duty to do. He straightened out his vest and made to follow the Princess as she headed for the giant ballroom doors.

“No wait.” Lance grabbed ahold of Keith’s arm. “We’re pretending to be a couple, right? Let’s enter as a couple.”

“Yeah a _couple_.” Keith’s voice broke as he spoke, he cleared his throat, then tried again. “A couple.”

“A couple of imbeciles,” Allura teased over her shoulder, but then she stopped and flashed them a little wink “Oh and, by the way, you two look hot.”

“You can blame Shiro for that,” Keith sighed.

“We should consider ourselves lucky,” she said as she resumed walking. Keith followed her, Lance still clinging to his arm. “Matt and Shiro could have told the Marguuls that Earth fashions were clown outfits, and then we’d all be wearing giant shoes and red noses tonight instead.”

Lance frowned. “Knowing those two I can’t believe they _didn’t_ do that.”

Keith snorted. “Knowing Shiro I can’t believe the Black Lion picked him as her Paladin.”

“Clearly her taste is skewed because then she picked _you_.”

“And she has _you_ cued up to be next.” He elbowed Lance in the ribs. “Guess Zarkon did a number on her, she hasn’t been able to settle for a guy since.”

Lance laughed, a dorky smile spreading across his face as he tugged Keith’s arm. “Maybe Black just has a type: Ruggedly handsome men.”

Allura whipped around, her impossibly high pony tail smacking Keith in the face as she turned. “Black does have a type and it’s idiots with a heart of gold.” She smiled softly. “Now get in there, idiots, it’s your night.”

Keith nodded at the Princess. “Thanks ‘Lura.”

She stepped aside, leaving Lance and Keith to gape up at the ridiculously magnificent doors that stood before them. The Red Paladin gulped, he could only imagine the craziness that awaited them on the other side, but the warmth coming from the man beside him calmed him a little. Suddenly he felt a jolt of excitement at the thought of entering a room with Lance, now _that_ was something he could get used to.

“Ready?” Lance asked.

Keith nodded. “Into the lion’s den we go.”

And with that, the two Paladins pushed the doors open together.

A spotlight was shined on them the moment they stepped into the room. They were standing at the top of a staircase lined with trumpet a player one each step, who all raised their instruments to their lips and began playing. Balloons fell from the ceiling as the Marguuls cheered, although Lance’s eyes went straight to the humongous, twenty teared cake in the center of the ballroom, Keyra flavored no doubt.

“Hey.” Keith nudged Lance’s shoulder. “What are the odds we can make it down these stairs without tripping?”

Lance sucked in a breath. “I don’t know, I mean we did take down an assassin today… but also I’ve met us, so I know the odds aren’t in our favor.”

“We could just stay up here, I’m kind of enjoying being deafened by trumpet players.”

“Don’t worry, if you trip…” Lance placed his hand on Keith’s shoulder, staring at him with a sweetly, “…I’ll just surf your body down the rest of the stairs.”

“You’re a jerk.”

“I’ll ride you right to the cake.”

Keith pushed Lance’s face away. “Shut your quiznak.”

Lance pried Keith’s hand off of his face and stared at him witha stunned expression, so much had happened since he said those words their first day in space. Lance smiled softly as he repeated Keith’s original response. “I don’t think you’re using that word correctly.”

“Eh, I think the expression might catch on.” Keith soaked in Lance’s dumbfounded expression. He looked like a vision standing on the steps, bathed in the blue and red lights the Marguuls hung from the ceiling, and he was staring at Keith like _that._ Keith would never forget this moment. “Race you to the bottom?”

Lance didn’t even respond, he just took off like a shot, bounding down the stairs two by two. The Blue Paladin got a head start, but Keith was quick, and was running side by side with Lance in no time.

“We need to get down there before Hunk and Pidge eat that entire cake,” Keith huffed out, ducking under one of the trumpets before it could decapitate him. 

“I know you’re joking, but they are definitely capable of doing that,” Lance replied, pushing Keith aside just before they reached the bottom, allowing the Blue Paladin to win the race.

Keith got his revenge though. He leapt off the stairs and onto Lance’s back, they both laughed until a giant purple spotlight was shone down on them, the audience falling silent as the King approached.

He gestured to the two boys, the one still on the other’s back. Keith quickly slid off and bowed his head towards the ground, trying very hard not to laugh.

“Ladies and gentlemen.” The King gestured towards them. “Our guests of honor.”

The crowd broke out into its usual hoots and hollers, but then fell silent when the King held up a large piece of paper. Keith gasped, could it be?

“In my hands I have the Coalition agreement…” The King paused, for dramatic effect no doubt, but Keith could barely stand it, they had worked so hard for this partnership, he needed to know if they’d finally succeeded or not. Out of mere habit he grabbed Lance’s hand and squeezed. “…Which we have signed.”

The crowd cheered and the band began to play. Lance turned to Keith and let out a squeal of excitement. “We did it, we did it!”

He wrapped his arms around his leader and pulled him into a hug. Keith hugged him back, scooping him up and spinning him around. He gave Lance one last squeeze before he put him down again. He brushed Lance’s coat off and cleared his throat. “Uh, sorry,” he mumbled (he wasn’t sorry though.)

“Boys.” Pidge approached them wearing a classy green pantsuit of her own and heels that almost made her as tall as a normal sized person. She held out a plate of cake for each of them. “I believe you’ve earned these.”

Lance snatched one of the plates out of her hands and began gobbling the cake down, but then stopped when he realized Keith was just staring at the other plate like it was food goo. Lance rolled his eyes. “Don’t bother, Pidge, Keith doesn’t like Keyra.”

The labored gasp that came out Pidge sounded more like she just found out Keith was a serial killer rather than a Keyra hater. “What kind of a monster?”

“That’s what I said.” Lance shrugged as he shoveled another bite of cake into his mouth. “He’s never even tried it.”

Pidge blinked a thousand miles a minute. “Never even… _How_ do you know you don’t like it if you’ve never even _tried_ it?” She slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh my god, now you got me sounding like Coran that time he tried to get me to eat his mystery meat goo.” She pelted Keith with tiny punches. “Now I’m doubly mad at you.”

Keith cocked his head. “Didn’t you end up liking the mystery meat-”

“That’s not the point!”

She shoved the plate into his hands and stomped away. He turned his attention back to Lance who somehow had already scarfed down his entire piece of cake and now had his eye on Keith’s.

Lance’s eyes flicked between their two plates. “…You gonna eat that?”

“I will take _one_ little bite, and then I never want to discuss this again,” Keith growled. He picked up his fork and dug it into the weird, exotic space cake on his plate. He brought it to his lips, but paused when he noticed Lance watching him intently. “Can I have a little privacy please?”

The Blue Paladin rolled his eyes. “Just eat it already.”

Keith shoved it into his mouth and his tongue was immediately overcome with a cacophony of flavors he’d never tasted before. He swallowed, every muscle in his face straining to keep his expression neutral, to keep Lance from knowing the joy he was feeling. Slowly, he sighed in defeat before mumbling, “goddammit it’s amazing.”

Lance let out a victorious whoop as he leapt into the air and clicked his ankles together. Keith couldn’t help but laugh at him, he was dancing around like a fool, but a cute fool, admittedly. Lance stopped his child-like leaping and stared at Keith, his face all red and his breaths all heavy from the incessant jumping. “I _knew_ you would like it!” He snatched the plate out of Keith’s hand. “And as payment for introducing you to it, I shall claim this slice of cake as my own.”

“Hey,” Keith whined, though he didn’t make much of an effort to take it back, Lance really had earned it.

“Fine,” Lance said, a forkful of Keith’s cake already in his mouth. “Since I am so kind, I will allow you to share this with me.”

“Technically it’s _my_ cake so…” Keith grumbled as he buried his fork into the dessert and shoveled it into his mouth.

Lance stared at him and let out a chuckle.

“What?”

“Nothing, you just got a little…” Lance gestured to the corner of his lip. “You know what, I’ll just…” and before Keith could react, his right hand man was reaching out and wiping frosting off his face. Lance slid his thumb across the bottom of Keith’s lip, and once he had collected all the icing, Lance had the audacity to lick it off of his own thumb.

Keith must’ve been the strongest man alive for not just throwing Lance over his shoulder and taking him away right then and there, because that entire interaction was concerningly hot to him. Keith shifted on his feet, he wanted so badly to finally tell Lance the truth, but he couldn’t do it in front of all these people.

Sadly, their moment was broken up by Shiro as he pushed his way between them. “Excuse me boys, I’m about to go make a fool of myself.”

Keith scoffed. “So business as usual then?”

Shiro shot Keith a confident wink before sauntering across the dance floor and stopping before Matt. He dropped into an unnecessarily low bow and held out his hand to the Rebel Leader. “Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?”

“I don’t know,” Matt laughed. “My toes haven’t quite recovered from the last time.”

“Don’t worry, I practiced with Coran.”

Matt gasped. “Coran sacrificed his feet for _me_?”

“No.” Shiro smacked Matt in the arm. “ _I_ sacrificed my dignity for you. Now come on.”

Matt took Shiro’s hand and allowed himself to be led to the dance floor. The two began waltzing in a surprisingly elegant and very non-Shiro-like way. Keith was impressed.

As soon as Matt and Shiro started dancing, couple after couple followed their lead. Within no time the dance floor was practically full, although the Red and Blue Paladins remained safely on the sidelines. 

“Why don’t you go dance?” Lance asked as he dumped their empty plates on the table behind him.

“Why don’t _you_ go dance with Zella?” Keith snapped back, immediately regretting it. It was just an involuntary response at this point to not put himself out there, to not make himself look like a fool, especially in front of Lance, and he was certain dancing would make him look foolish.

“Is that what you want?” Lance asked very matter-of-factly. He held Keith’s stare, it was a challenge, to see if Keith was willing to follow through with what he said in the hallway. Lance was waiting to see if he would continue to be a coward, or if he would take the plunge, but Keith knew he couldn’t do it, he was going to leave Lance hanging yet again. Lance nodded very slowly. “I see.”

And with that Lance stomped off in search of someone who was actually mature enough to talk about their feelings…or at least someone who was willing to dance with him.

Keith plopped himself down at an empty table and buried his face in his hands. He would rather battle a hundred sentries than lose Lance, so why couldn’t he do this? He was the biggest idiot in the universe, and he should know, he had met _a lot_ of idiots across the universe.

 

——————

 

Lance slipped between the couples out on the dance floor, careful not to be trampled as they waltzed by. He passed Hunk, who had a radiant smile on his face as he glided across the floor with Shay. Lance couldn’t help but be proud of his best buddy for finally having the guts to ask her.

He was mad at himself for not asking Keith to dance, but he also knew Keith wasn’t ready yet. His leader was the bravest guy he knew, Keith would charge into a battle headfirst for anyone he cared for without hesitation, and yet, when it came to his emotions, Keith was a coward. Lance now understood that his feelings weren’t as one sided as the Red Paladin wanted him to believe, but if Keith was still too scared to tell Lance to his face, then Lance wouldn’t force it out of him.

He did a double take as he passed the King, whose dance partner had somehow become Coran. His Majesty had Coran hoisted above his head in a perfect lift, with Coran’s foot somehow touching to the back of his own head. Lance rubbed his eyes, that wasn’t something you see everyday.

He continued making his way across the floor, up ahead he saw Zella dancing with Allura and Pidge. Allura’s eyes lit up when she noticed him and she waved him over. He sidestepped passed whatever was happening with Coran and the King and made his way towards their group, but stopped when he heard a voice behind him.

“Lance.”

The Blue Paladin whirled around to find his team leader standing there, handsome as ever underneath the blue and red lights. He was breathing heavily and Lance wondered if he had sprinted across the dance floor to get here.

Keith held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

Lance stared at the hand extended towards him. Was this a trick? But the affectionate way Keith was looking at him spoke volumes, so Lance took his hand. “I thought you’d never ask.”

The Red Paladin pulled him in close and swung him onto the dance floor. One hand tightly clasped around Lance’s, the other gently caressing his back. Lance looked over at Allura, who was giving him a very enthusiastic thumbs up, Zella and Pidge were doing the same right behind her.

Lance couldn’t believe it, Keith Kogane just asked him to dance. If only young Garrison Lance could see him now. They shuffled across the dance floor, gliding past the other couples, though neither of the Paladins paid them any mind, too busy gazing at each other. Lance cocked his head. “So…”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “So?”

“You gonna do one of those fancy lifts like Coran?”

“Don’t push it, McClain,” Keith chuckled, pulling Lance closer until their chests were flush.

“You know, I don’t think our dancing’s half bad,” Lance mused, resting his chin on Keith’s shoulder. “Allura would be proud.”

“Careful,” Keith replied, his hot breath tickling Lance’s cheek. “I heard that if we say her name three times she’ll appear out of nowhere and critique our dancing until all three of us are in tears.”

“Sounds like a party.”

Lance pulled back slightly so he could look at Keith. His leader was surprisingly calm for an introvert who was currently the center of attention. He knew Keith was keenly aware of all the Marguulians with their cameras pointed directly at the two of them. Personally, Lance had completely forgotten they were there, he was too focused on Keith’s arms wrapped around him to notice anything else.

Keith gazed at Lance with a soft expression, but ever so slowly, his face scrunched into something else. He bit his lip. “Listen, Lance…”

“What’s wrong?” Lance asked, unable to hide the worry in his voice. Keith looked like he was in genuine discomfort, so obviously Lance’s mind had already listed off a million different things that could be wrong, he blurted out the first one that he could think of. “Are you constipated?”

“What? No I’m not…” Keith paused for a moment. “Okay maybe emotionally.”

“Well I knew _that_.”

Keith released Lance’s hand so he could give him a smack on the shoulder. “Can I just say what I was gonna say?”

Lance shot him a playful smirk, but nodded. Keith smiled back at him, sliding his hand back into Lance’s and gently lacing their fingers together.

“I was thinking about the terrible things I said to you last night,” he began, staring down at their intertwined hands, carefully watching his own thumb as it traced over Lance’s. “My behavior last night was inexcusable, and I didn’t mean any of it….except for one thing…” His eyes met the Blue Paladin’s. “I wasn’t lying yesterday when I said I don’t need you.”

Lance’s heart dropped.

“I _could_ live my life without you,” Keith continued, “but _god_ I don’t want to.”

Lance let out a breath of relief. “Jeez man, you sure know how to give a guy a heart attack.” He dropped his head onto Keith’s shoulder, laughing right into his leader’s neck. “I think I need to go back into the pod after that.”

Keith leaned his head against Lance’s. “The pod’s been hogging you all week. It’s my turn to hold you now.”

They stayed like that in silence for a few minutes. Lance kept his head nestled between his leader’s neck and shoulder. They weren’t really dancing anymore, just sort of swaying back and forth as they held one another. Lance never wanted it to end.

Keith slid his hand up Lance’s back to the nape of his neck, his fingers carefully carding through Lance’s short brown hair. “I know I should’ve told you last night, hell, I should’ve told you months ago-”

Lance picked his head up so they could be eye to eye again.

“I’m sorry about what I said last night, I just…I needed some time to process.”

Lance cocked his head. “To process my feelings?”

“No, _my_ feelings. Lance, I’ve had a crush on you since the Garrison, and I’ve been in love with you since Sendak nearly killed you on Arus.”

Lance nearly choked. “ _What_? Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I’m bad at emotions!”

“You literally picked me up and carried me yesterday.”

Keith cupped Lance’s cheek. “Because you make me want to be better.” His thumb traced the outline of the Blue Paladin’s jaw. “For you. Only for you.”

Lance pulled his leader into a hug, he thought Keith might pull away - since they had already pushed so many of his boundaries tonight - but Keith did no such thing. In fact, he did the opposite, clinging even tighter to Lance, as if he’d never let go.

“I’m in love with you, Lance McClain,” Keith breathed into his hair.

Lance’s chest swelled up. He’d been in his fair share of relationships, and he’d heard those words many times, but this time was different, because this time it was coming from _Keith_. “Yeah, yeah, I love you too,” he mumbled into Keith’s shoulder.

His team leader merely laughed as he placed a quick kiss on the Blue Paladin’s forehead, unknowingly setting Lance’s whole body ablaze.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Lance gasped, pulling out of the hug. A mischievous smile spread across his face. “Some little birdies told me that yesterday wasn’t the first time you cradled me in your arms. Apparently you carried me all the way to the healing pod after the first assassin attacked.”

Keith blinked. “Wait. How did you-” His eyes went wide, then suddenly narrowed. “Hunk and Pidge told you, didn’t they?”

“Oh there was a whole gossip session after I got out of the pod today. Allura and Coran even brought snacks!”

Suddenly, a voice boomed over the entire room. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please!” It was Matt. He and Pidge were balancing together on top of the King’s announcement box, the servant with he mic was there too, doing his thing for the Rebel Leader. “Sorry to interrupt, but this is just a little practice speech for Lance and Keith’s wedding.”

“This settles it,” Keith whispered into Lance’s ear. “If we ever get married Matt will not be one of my groomsmen.”

“That’s okay, he can be one of mine.”

“Traitor.”

Matt raised his glass, and the whole room followed his lead. “A toast, to Keith and Lance. Our heroes, our lovers…our idiots.”

“To our idiots!” Pidge shouted, clinking her glass with Matt’s.

“To our idiots!” The whole room cheered, as they too clinked their glasses and guzzled down their drinks.

Lance threw his head back and laughed, of course that was the part of the speech the Marguuls cheered to. They would probably write epic songs about he and Keith’s battles called something like _The Tale of Two Idiots_.

“Okay now, you funky little Marguuls,” Pidge yelled into the mic, “let’s get this party started!”

With that, the band started playing a more upbeat song. Lance instantly began to dance. Keith, on the other hand, just stood there watching Lance with a dopey smile on his face, stiff as a board. Lance pinched Keith’s shoulder. “Come on, Keith, dance!”

His leader slowly began to tap his foot, which honestly, was far more than Lance had ever expected to get out of Keith, dance-wise. The Blue Paladin danced circles around his brand-new, hunky, Galran lover, showing off his very best moves. He shook his hips and dropped to floor in time with the music. With each new move, Keith loosened up a bit more, until he had fully given in to the rhythm. Keith pulled out all the classics: the Disco, the weird jump you do at middle school dances, and even the Macarena at one point, and Lance loved every moment of it.

“Do my eyes deceive me?” Lance called out over the music. “Or is Keith Kogane actually having fun at a party?”

“Yeah I’ll admit it, I’m having way more fun than I did at the last Marguulian ball we attended,” Keith laughed as he continued his current dance move, a little shimmy with finger guns.

Lance smirked. “You wanna see something _really_ fun?”

He didn’t wait for Keith to respond, he merely took a few steps back, then ran towards his team leader and leapt into his arms. Keith was quick to react, though, catching Lance with ease, who in turn wrapped his legs around the Red Paladin like a koala.

Lance sifted a hand through Keith’s silky hair. “At the last party - you know, before the whole assassin mess - I told you that you should try having fun sometime.”

Keith nodded. “I do recall that, yes.”

Lance leaned in until their noses touched. “Well, I think we had a major breakthrough today.”

“Yeah,” Keith breathed, barely audible over the music. His gaze shifting frantically between Lance’s eyes and lips.

Lance caressed the nape of Keith’s neck. “God I want to kiss you.”

“Why don’t you?”

“Why don’t _you_? Do I have to do everything first?”

Now it was Keith’s turn to throw his head back and laugh. “Because, when it comes to you, I’m a coward.” He leaned in close, stopping when their lips were just a hair’s breadth apart. “But you make me want to be brave.”

Keith finally closed the distance between them and kissed Lance. It was a slow and desperate kiss at first, but then they sped it up, falling into a rhythm with one another. Lance wanted to savor ever moment of this kiss, remember every second of this night, every inch of Keith’s body.

Keith’s hands wondered all over Lance’s back and shoulders, unable to settle on just one spot, and Lance was perfectly fine with that. Lance, on the other hand, couldn’t keep his hands out of Keith’s hair, he carded his hands through it over and over, twirling tufts around his fingers, and even giving it a little tug from time to time.

His leader was still carrying him, which Keith used to his advantage as he backed Lance into the nearest wall. Once Lance was pinned all bets were off. Keith’s hands roamed all over his body, down his sides, along his thighs, up his shirt.

Keith bit the bottom of Lance’s lip, causing the Blue Paladin to let out an involuntary sigh, which made Keith go absolutely feral. His leader pinned him even harder against the wall, turning Lance’s head away so Keith could kiss his neck.

Lance opened his eyes slightly, only to find Pidge staring directly at them. “Oh my god,” he laughed, hugging Keith’s shoulders. “The child caught us.”

Keith begrudgingly stopped, although he kept his hands firmly planted on Lance’s waist. He turned his head so he could look at Pidge, who was, for some reason, sitting on top of Shiro’s shoulders. She snapped a picture. “This is to show Veronica when we get back to Earth, she’s gonna be so mad she missed this!”

Hunk stood next to Shiro and sniffled. Shay clung to his arm lovingly, giggling as she handed him a handkerchief.

Keith protectively covered Lance’s body with his own. “Do you guys _mind_?”

Shiro let out a modest chuckle. “Congratulations, you two.” Then, much to the other Paladins’ chagrin, Shiro gathered them up and lead them away, leaving Keith and Lance alone once again.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lance saw Zella dancing with Allura. Zella’s eyes caught his and she gave him a friendly wave, Lance waved back, only to notice that Keith was watching. Before Lance could promise he and Zella were just friends, Keith dipped him and kissed him with such vigor that Lance was sure he saw stars. When Keith brought Lance up for air again he was dizzy. “Whoa, I should wave at Zella more often.”

The Red Paladin tucked a stray piece of hair behind Lance’s ear. “Sorry Darlin’, but you’re not becoming the next King of the Marguuls anytime soon, not if I have anything to say about it.”

“Don’t worry Love, I’m all yours.” Lance rested his hands on Keith’s shoulders. “Besides, if anyone’s gonna be the next Marguulian King I’m pretty sure Coran’s got that covered.”

Lance nodded over Keith’s shoulder towards the dance floor, Keith looked back only to find Coran holding the King up in what looked like the lift straight out of _Dirty Dancing_.

Keith turned back to Lance, an overwhelmingly fond smile on his face. “Yeah well, you’re mine.”

Lance slid out of Keith’s arms and put his feet back on the floor, sure that his leader was tired of carrying him by now. He took a step back but Keith pulled Lance’s waist forward, causing their lips to meet once again. Lance wrapped his arms around his team leader’s neck and kissed him back even harder.

Keith smiled against Lance’s lips. “You were all on me about calling you a cute nickname. So, can I call you my boyfriend?”

“Can I call you out for that cheesy line?”

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

“Hmm, I’ll have to think about it,” Lance teased.

“I understand,” Keith conceded, raising his hands in the air. “I respect that you need some time to think.” He paused for a moment, then wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist and pulled him in close. “Okay, times up, what did you decide?”

The Blue Paladin placed a hand on the Red Paladin’s cheek, slowly caressing it with his thumb. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Keith smiled, and Lance couldn’t take how incredible it looked. He leaned in and gave Keith a slow and gentle kiss, savoring each and every moment. Keith leaned into it, deepening it even further. When he finally let Keith go, his leader’s face was red, his breaths short, his smile wide. Lance kind of liked being able to make Keith look like that.

“Come on, let’s go dance,” Keith beamed as he grabbed Lance’s hand and lead him back towards the dance floor.

A jolt of energy shot through Lance’s entire body. “Really? You want to?”

“Yeah, yeah, you were right about Keyra and you were right about dancing, if you’re right about one more thing I’m gonna have to retire from being Black Paladin out of pure shame.”

“But Keith, I’m always right. After all, I am your-” Lance wiggled an eyebrow, “ _right_ hand man.”

Keith let out a loud moan as he tugged Lance into the dance circle the other Paladins had formed. Pidge, Hunk and Allura were quick to dance up next to them, faces smug as they stared at the two boys dancing closely.

Keith turned to Matt and Shiro and wrapped an arm around Lance’s waist. “Can we keep him?”

Shiro looked at Matt, then back to the Red Paladin. “I kept you didn’t I?”

Keith barked out a laugh, giving Shiro a swift kick in the butt before returning to dancing like an absolute fool with Lance.

In that moment, Lance remembered something Iverson once said to him, something about not following in Keith’s footsteps. Well, Iverson be damned, because he would follow Keith anywhere, and right now, Keith was finally letting Lance know that he would do the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please tell your friends about my lil' ol' fic here


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